I’ve always loved London, but I’m worried coronavirus could mean death for the city

There’s every sign that big cities will become places where only the very rich and the very poor live, in carefully separated ghettos. The pandemic has hastened this process, writes Janet Street-Porter

Fatal blow? Tourists won’t be returning anytime soon (Reuters)

I’m proud of my heritage, born in inner London to parents who had lived through the Blitz. They couldn’t wait to flee to the dreary outer suburbs as soon as they could afford a small house with a garden, whereas my birthplace has been the source of joy and (of course) frustration, providing inspiration, and constant cultural nourishment.

I’ve always worked and lived at its heart – but the lockdown has provided isolation and the headspace to re-evaluate. As a child, I would almost cry with joy the moment my train from compulsory visits to relatives in Wales trundled into London and I could see the backs of houses next to the tracks, the dark, damp earth in their tiny back gardens. That feeling has never gone away.

Post-coronavirus, though, will city living go out of fashion, not just for me, but for thousands of others? Social distancing might be in force until next year – no concerts, plays, or communal activities.

As for business, working from home means that post-pandemic, employment will never be the same. Every kind of working practice has been affected by social distancing, from fruit-picking to sewing dresses, book and newspaper publishing to filmmaking. Old-fashioned offices will be redundant: in future, most businesses will require a hub where key workers might hold meetings or debate confidential policy. Office buildings were already being repurposed as low-cost housing for students and the young, but now there will be far too much space available, especially as foreign student numbers will take years to recover.

So what will happen to these new white elephants of the early 21st century? Should they be demolished, and a new garden city erected in their place with healthier living options – acres of new parks and city farms for the people who remain? The current crisis has shown how few green spaces parts of London have, certainly not enough for many of its inhabitants to exercise properly.

Being confined to our homes has resulted in cleaner air, less traffic fumes and a different way of shopping. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics’ monthly business study show March online sales hit an all-time high – 22.3 per cent of all retailing was done without leaving home. Food and drink (at the start of stockpiling) soared by 10 per cent, with alcohol sales up 31.4 per cent! Not so much a lockdown as a sloshdown, according to one wit on Twitter.

Given that lockdown didn’t start until the last week of March, the figures for April will be even more dramatic. With no sign of restrictions being eased until mid-May or early June, many retailers will not bother to open old-fashioned shops again

The death of the high street now seems a foregone conclusion. Stalwarts like John Lewis predict a drop in sales of 35 per cent, with customers more interested in buying scrabble than sofas. The retailer says they may have to cancel their legendary Christmas ad this year in an effort to save money.

As another indicator of changing priorities, clothing sales are down 34.5 per cent. Why dress up to take the dog for a poo, or talk at desk level to fellow workers? According to one poll, we are all eating at least 350 calories extra a day, so weight gain is inevitable. Suddenly, well-worn comfy clothing seems so right with a reduced income and an uncertain future. New clothes might cheer us up, but they can’t stop infection. And might they seem ostentatious and inappropriate in a climate of anxiety? Even luxury brands like Burberry and Louis Vuitton have converted their workforce into making protective clothing for NHS workers. Post-Covid-19, will luxury brands still have the cash to maintain small boutiques on prestigious shopping streets visited by gawpers and the very rich?

Cities aren’t just about retail, though. Cultural institutions have closed and we are visiting galleries and museums online. How many will bother to travel on public transport to experience their offerings in three dimensions in the future? Galleries and theatres were always competing for public funding, but the government has said its priority has been to save lives and to protect the NHS, and the chancellor has pledged billions to save businesses. What is the cultural trade-off? Already the channelling of resources into treating one disease is seeing cancer and heart patients suffer, with an increase in preventable deaths predicted by many experts. Post-lockdown, will there be enough cash (or the will) to channel any remaining government funds into the arts, because they are a key reason why major cities like London thrive and attract visitors?

London might be nearing a financial meltdown, according to its mayor, but the crisis also means that visitor numbers (with their huge spending on retail and hospitality) will be non-existent for the foreseeable future. Is this another fatal blow?

Unless social scientists and inspired thinkers take on the problem of breathing life into globally important cities post-Covid-19, there’s every sign that for the main part of the 21st century, London (and New York) will become places where only the very rich and the very poor live, in carefully separated ghettos. Things were starting to move down that route already, but Covid-19 has hastened the process.

It took the Festival of Britain on the South Bank in 1951 to breathe life back into London and entice visitors to experience the Dome of Discovery and the Skylon. This hugely successful national celebration attracted millions of visitors, created as a positive experience after a period of austerity and fear. Would the same kind of flamboyant gesture revitalise London in the 2020s? I have my doubts.

Crowded cities like London have always been associated with plagues, but this time technology might mean my hometown will never recover. London is in cardiac arrest, but is it terminal?