In the context of COVID-19, the term ‘essential’ has gone beyond defining indispensable activities and labor during a time of crisis and entered the realm of Orwellian doublespeak. The pandemic has only accelerated a much larger conversation being led by market forces, the development and accessibility of technology, and other mega-trends about what is essential –and by definition, non-essential– about work in cities.

On this episode of The Big Rethink, we take a deep dive into the how, what, and where of the future of the urban workforce. We’ll discuss the dissonance in naming workers as essential whilst not providing protections or a living wage, why the Fourth Industrial Revolution requires skills-friendly cities, and whether the modern brick-and-mortar office will itself soon be deemed as non-essential.