Sara Jensen Carr Featured in News@Northeastern: COVID-19 May Have Changed the Way We Work, Permanenetly
A year after the COVID-19 pandemic started closing businesses and forcing many workers to learn how to work remotely, is there any going back to business as usual? Changing the status quo promises to create a fundamental workplace challenge with pros and cons for workers and employers, say two Northeastern researchers who study virtual work and urban landscapes.
If the number of daily commuters remains lower than its pre-pandemic levels, public transportation routes and frequency could change, says Sara Jensen Carr, assistant professor of architecture whose research explores connections between landscapes and human health.
“We didn’t have a particularly robust public transportation system in the U.S. to begin with, and if there are even fewer people riding it, what will the long-term effect be?” she says.
Carr is concerned that decreased ridership may force some municipalities to limit the number of trains and buses running each day, a move that would be detrimental for workers who don’t have the option to work from home, she says.