Has COVID-19 killed the megacity? The pandemic is certainly reshaping globalisation, turning the hubs of the pre-2020 global economy into epicentres of contagion and leaving their future hanging in the balance. But the crisis has also simply highlighted megacities’ existing vulnerabilities and accelerated processes that were already under way.
By the start of this century, cities such as London, New York, and Hong Kong had become central nodes in the global flow of money, people, and ideas. They were not just financial centres but also cultural metropoles, hives of creativity that depended on the bankers’ wealth and patronage. Entrepreneurs and innovators flocked in, hoping to remake themselves and the world.
