Megacities vs. Urban Sprawl;Densifying vs. Social Distancing

Decentralization and the “15-minute city” are ideas that are currently being put forward to tackle urban challenges, but how will these issues be tackled in the design of tall buildings? What is the implication for these ideas in a future, pandemic-aware context? Can future vertical expansion be addressed through new models that take into account the same multiple and complex challenges currently being faced in the horizontal realm? It is time that we stop understanding vertical development in terms of autonomous single-program buildings, and instead approach it as the holistic extension of multiple urban systems along the vertical axis. © 2021, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. All rights reserved.