What we can learn from birdsong: Mainstreaming teleworking in a post-pandemic world

Abstract

Many urban areas suffer from poor air quality as a consequence of high levels of car-based traffic. Even cities with well-developed multi-modal public transport networks and favourable conditions for alternative transportation, such as Barcelona, experience problems with air pollution. The restrictions imposed on movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic offer insights into the collective social benefits of reduced traffic. This situation also provided much-needed evidence about teleworking that will indicate whether it could become a mainstream and institutionalised practice in certain professions. In Barcelona, the experience of a less polluted, quieter and more liveable city has inspired both the municipal government and the citizens to rethink the use of public spaces and look for ways to reduce car dependency. We argue that this unprecedented crisis is an opportunity to create a more sustainable future of work and mobility in cities in the post-pandemic world.