来源：《基督科学箴言报》
原文刊登日期：2022年5月16日
For all of our lives, cities have been, well, cities. Skyscrapers, crowded neighborhoods, and good pizza. But the pandemic has forced us to ask a question that might seem a little strange: What is the point of a city, really?
对于我们所有人的生活来说，城市一直是城市。摩天大楼，拥挤的社区，美味的披萨。但疫情迫使我们提出了一个看似有点奇怪的问题：城市的真正意义是什么？
This is not to say that cities are going away. The world’s trend toward urbanization isn’t likely to let up anytime soon. But the megacities of tomorrow are all expected to be in Asia and Africa. Cities in the West are on a different trajectory.
这并不是说城市正在消失。全球城市化的趋势短期内不太可能放缓。但未来的特大城市预计都将在亚洲和非洲。西方城市的发展轨迹则不同。
The answer is universally the same: In the age of Zoom, when white-collar workers are increasingly untethered to the office, cities need to be more than skyscrapers. They need to be livable. In other words, if you can live where you want, then cities need to be a place you want to live.
答案是普遍相同的：在Zoom时代，白领越来越不受办公室的束缚，城市需要的不仅仅是摩天大楼。城市需要宜居。换句话说，如果你能住在你想住的地方，那么城市就需要成为你想住的地方。
That trend is not entirely new. More than 20 years ago, San Francisco became the prototype for a new kind of city – essentially an urban playground. The pandemic has simply underlined the changes happening. Not every city has to become its own San Francisco. But it needs to have its restaurants and theaters, green spaces and bike paths. What’s interesting is that through the centuries, public health crises have played important roles in doing just that – making cities more livable.
这种趋势并不是全新的。20多年前，旧金山成为了一种新型城市的原型——本质上是一个城市游乐场。这场大流行只是突出了正在发生的变化。不是每个城市都必须成为自己的旧金山。但它需要餐厅、剧院、绿地和自行车道。有趣的是，几个世纪以来，公共卫生危机在这方面发挥了重要作用——使城市更宜居。
A 2021 United Nations report notes that during the bubonic plague, Lucca, Italy, required all its residents to clean the street in front of their houses every Saturday. In the 19th century, concerns about tuberculosis in the United States led to a demand for more open spaces. The result was public parks like the Emerald Necklace in Boston and Central Park in New York.
联合国2021年的一份报告指出，在黑死病肆虐期间，意大利卢卡要求所有居民每周六清扫自家门前的街道。在19世纪，美国对结核病的担忧导致了对更多开放空间的需求。结果是波士顿的翡翠项链公园和纽约的中央公园。
The lesson is the same as it has always been, the report suggests: “The current global plight underlines the need to ensure that any recovery sustains the benefits of urban health for all in cities and societies that are more inclusive and sustainable.” In other words, the most resilient cities are the ones built with their citizens’ well-being in mind.
联合国报告指出，经验教训与以往一样：“当前的全球困境突出表明，有必要确保任何复苏都能使更具包容性和可持续性的城市和社会中的所有人受益于城市卫生。”换句话说，最具复原力的城市是那些在建设时考虑到市民福祉的城市。
It’s a reminder that cities change as societies change. The modern city grew out of the Industrial Revolution, as cities became hubs for mills and factories. The rise of the skyscraper kept cities at the center of economic activity. But what does that mean when New York City marketers can do their job from the Maine coast? It seemingly means that, to prosper, cities must once again find a way to be a better version of themselves.
这提醒我们，城市随着社会的变化而变化。现代城市起源于工业革命，城市成为工厂的中心。摩天大楼的崛起使城市成为经济活动的中心。但当纽约市的营销人员可以在缅因州海岸开展工作时，这意味着什么？这似乎意味着，为了繁荣，城市必须再次找到一种方式，让自己变得更好。
That constant recalibration brings change, but also a chance for reinvention. As Wired magazine concluded: “The demise of cities is nowhere in sight, even after a global pandemic, but to thrive, they will need to work hard to become liveable, sustainable and inclusive places.”
这种不断的调整带来了变化，但也带来了重新创造的机会。正如《连线》杂志所总结的那样：“即使在全球大流行之后，城市也看不到消亡的迹象，但要繁荣，城市需要努力成为宜居、可持续和包容的地方。”