I'm John Donovan and this is Intelligence Squared U.S.

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New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, America's biggest cities

have long reigned as the nation's economic and cultural capitals.

But is that still true in the wake of COVID and the rise of remote life?

The pandemic has also made inequality glaringly apparent.

Some cities are pushing back with progressive policies,

but will those policies render city life even less attractive?

And if so, for whom?

So we asked the question, are big cities past their prime?

Hi everybody and welcome.

And yes, that is a question that has been taking shape really now for many years now,

as cities have been undergoing population and demographic shifts,

and technology has been changing the way we live everywhere.

But with the pandemic, all of this happening at hyperspeed, these changes and shifts,

we have zoom towns popping up around the country.

...