Home offices and revitalised local shops: How COVID-19 will shape our suburbs of the future

“The way we work has changed forever,” claims the head of our planning commission. The ramifications of this crisis could result in different-looking streets for years to come.

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The coronavirus crisis could save the suburban high street as a surge in working from home drives people and revenues to our struggling shopping strips, experts say.

There will also be large ramifications for urban planning and house design, they say.

In a column penned for The Advertiser, the chairman of the State Planning Commission, Michael Lennon, said “the way we work has changed forever’’, with ramifications for how our cities and homes are designed, and who stands to benefit.

“Flexible working, variable start and finish times, less travel, more virtual connection has proven effective beyond our wildest expectations,’’ he said.

Mr Lennon said in particular women, who still bore the greater brunt of childcare responsibilities, older workers and people with long commutes would benefit greatly from a shift to more flexible work practices, and there would be a flow-on in terms of suburban rejuvenation.

“Suburbs will be more and more interesting and diverse,’’ he said.

“Our residential suburbs are no longer ‘residential only’ and have all become ‘mixed use’ with home offices down every street.

“Our residential suburbs are no longer ‘residential only’ and have all become ‘mixed use’ with home offices down every street.”

“Our local centres will get stronger and better because we now appreciate them more.’’

Many of metropolitan Adelaide’s suburban high streets have suffered in recent years with pressures on the retail sector and in some cases high rents leading to a hollowing-out of offerings.

Mr Lennon said the controversial $15.5 million upgrade of King William Rd would “be shown to be the right thing to have done”, and other areas such as Henley Square, Prospect Rd, and even Aldinga could benefit from the working from home revolution.

Housing Industry Association executive director SA, Stephen Knight, was one of a number of influential property sector chiefs surveyed by The Advertiser about the future for the sector post-COVID.

Mr Knight said there had been a push towards urban consolidation over recent decades but that could shift as builders were already reporting a change in consumer desires.

“Do we need to live near the city if many of us may end up spending most of our work time at home. Do apartments and townhouses provide enough space to accommodate a dedicated home office area?” Mr Knight said.

“Already builders are telling me they are getting inquiries from customers considering adding an extra room to their home in anticipation that this may be their new lifestyle.’’

Mr Knight said the State Government should consider loosening urban density targets with this probable longer-term shift towards more working from home.

BankSA chief executive Nick Reade said there could be a change in the desires of house hunters, with “high-functioning home offices’’ and “multi-use spaces’’ popular.

After the finale, we can choose how to go

In the closing scenes of the epic film Groundhog Day, the life of Phil (Bill Murray’s cynical TV weatherman character) changes – his sweetheart is with him and she is real!

He is no longer stuck in monotony and has a chance to remake himself, to create a better future – informed by his experiment in being trapped in something beyond his control.

And so too do we all as we emerge from the lockdowns of COVID-19, looking around, shaking our heads and wondering “where to from here”?

Some things are pretty clear:

■ Public health and safety will loom much larger than ever in all city planning – more space and light in buildings, safe movement of people, more even spread of the journey-to-work traffic loads.

■ The way we work has changed forever. Flexible working, variable start and finish times, less travel, more virtual connection has proven effective beyond our wildest expectations. This may have benefits for some people, particularly women (who still mostly care for children), older workers (who like working from home), people living in outlying areas and have historically had long commutes (think Victor Harbor and Barossa).

■ Suburbs will be more and more interesting and diverse. Our residential suburbs are no longer ‘residential only’ and have all become ‘mixed use’ with home offices down every street.

■ Our local centres will get stronger and better because we now appreciate them more. Henley Square, Prospect Road, Old Aldinga – how we love them! King William Road’s upgrade will be shown to be the right thing to have done (despite the disruption).

■ Retailing is online in a big way and big shops will have to work even harder to survive (think Harris Scarfe, David Jones). Differentiation is everything (think Foodland at Pasadena).

■ Sadly, many of the cafes, bars and restaurants that we treasure will not return.

But some things are not so clear:

■ I suspect those people who think this will lead to the demise of cities and a return to “farm living” might be a little off the mark. Cities are always the focus of plagues – the Great Plague, the Black Death, the Spanish Flu – because that’s where most of the people are. People are drawn to each other. Always have been. Always will.

■ Australia is among the most urbanised counties in the world. It will take a lot to wrest us away from friends and family (let alone from smashed avocados with feta and chilli available at our favourite café).

■ Our trend to denser living may be jolted by the reminder of how pleasant a house and garden is for many (although not all) of us.

And some things might be in our hands to make the most of, to re-make the world (in the way Bill does to himself in the movie)

■ Walking, cycling, being friendly to people on the street, walking dogs, enjoying gardens. These have all been our salvation and we should not give simple pleasures away.

■ Real choices have begun to emerge about whether we really need a car (or so many cars).

■ We have re-discovered public parks. We should intensify greening and planting everywhere to strengthen this simple pleasure (as well as address changing weather patterns).

■ And finally, crisis always creates opportunity: A new economy will emerge. I suspect services, tourism, leisure, the arts, culture, entertainment, education are amongst the strongest prospects. And guess what? South Australia is pretty good at all of them.

■ Will domestic manufacturing get a new life?

So, having shown we can lead the country and truly excelled in virus prevention can we also get out of the national starting blocks the fastest? Can we build on our strengths while Melbourne and Sydney sway from the loss of (and dependence upon) mass immigration? Can we do better on this front as a demonstrably safe, but cool place to live?

For Phil (Bill Murray) at the end of the day (pun) things got better when he became a better person, when he focused on the things that truly matter and happiness came when he embraced the world around him with confidence and truth.

Michael Lennon is the Chair of the State Planning Commission