Life after this corona virus pandemic will not return to the same as it was before. We are at a junction of a new world emerging. The prevailing view is that despite the scale of one of the most unprecedented declines since the end of World War II, humanity will recover, but the world will look and feel very different. So what is the future of property for developers post Covid-19?
With such change will come a shift in values, in the way we work, the homes in which we live, and the cities and landscapes in which we reside, to name but a few. Perhaps conversations around topics like Real Time and Virtual Reality will become the norm.
As we try to make sense of what is happening now, and what our world will look like as we emerge from this global crisis, ThinkLab watched the first “Screentime conversation of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival” fresh off the press from 15th April, with the renowned Dutch trend forecaster Li Edelkoort.
Li Edelkoort at the Virtual Design Festival
Dezeen recently interviewed Li as the Corona Virus began to spread and take center stage in our lives, as she herself was in a self imposed quarantine here in Cape Town after speaking at the annual Design Indaba conference in the Mother City.
She spoke to the online magazine in March about “a global recession of a magnitude that has not been experienced before but will eventually allow humanity to reset its values”.
Edelkoort also talked about the consequence of the virus causing a “quarantine of consumption” which would have a bold cultural and economic effect.
She explains in her new Hope Manifesto that – “Under siege from the Covid-19 virus, many people have come to understand that they should change their behaviour patterns, no longer travelling too much, producing too much, consuming too much or using up too many resources,”
“The comfort of being at and working from home, wasting time instead of money, has led people away from their addiction to material things and into a realm of sharing, caring and making.”
“Disasters are known as powerful ignition tools for radical ways of transforming business practices,” she adds, predicting that fashion will ditch its “insane” practices and that the world will see a revival of small-scale, home-based production.”
“Many countries will fund the return of production to their own shores and outsourcing will become more diverse and less excessive, taking better care of workers and the environment,” Li writes.
[All references Dezeen. Opening image from Mail&Guardian]
Watch the full 40 minutes interview (15 April 2020) here. Whether you are considering the future of property or any other industry, Edelkoort offers good food for thought.
Further reading
Read more about the Virtual Design Festival here.
