Don't Get Hung Up on "Normal"

We’ve been hearing a lot about the “new normal”.  We heard this after 9/11 and it is back in our national dialog.  I am a planner and urban designer with projects that deal with “normal” all the time – often how to integrate something new into an existing neighborhood (or community) while keeping it familiar and contextually sensitive, yet innovative.  Challenging?  Sometimes.  Satisfying?  Absolutely.

My observation is that “normal” changes all the time.  What we are dealing with today (and previously, during events like 9/11) is “normal” changing much faster than we are prepared for.  So, before we talk about the “new normal”, we have to ask what was “normal” before?

Shopping?  Retail has been undergoing a massive change for several years, as brick-and-mortar stores and large regional shopping centers try to migrate to a more online presence.  COVID-19 kicked many retailers into high gear to get online or offer curbside pick-up options. Many retailers needed to make these changes to remain competitive - COVID-19 accelerated the change. But retailers still need customers inside their stores to survive long-term.

Restaurants?  Like retail, dining has been under siege with many brands disappearing.  Disruptors like Grub Hub, Door Dash, and Uber Eats made delivery suddenly an achievable service for many restaurants.  And for the last few weeks, it has been a lifeline to many restaurants who had to immediately shift to curbside pick-up or to-go only. Like shopping, restaurants need dine-in customers as well to support their business plans.

Commuting?  Secret – few admit to really liking their commute, but how we commute has been changing for over 30 years.  While many still drive alone to and from work, there are many more cities with light rail service now than there were just a few decades ago.  Others may use Uber or Lyft, some ride their bike to work, and for the last 6 weeks or so, many of us have "commuted" from home.  Commuting patterns have been changing for years and will continue to do so.

Office and workplace?  If you’ve worked in an office for a while, you know it’s been constantly changing.  Private offices and cubicle farms gave way to open plan offices, hoteling, benching, and a generally higher-density environment. Offices will reconfigure to adapt to health-related concerns, but it will still be an office (maybe with more workers working from home a day or two each week).

Hotels?  The hospitality industry has been reacting to sea-level changes from competitors like Airbnb, VRBO, and other non-traditional options.  Many hotel chains have undergone extensive renovations to make sure they aren’t “your father’s hotel”. The hotels that haven't evolved in some form or fashion may not survive in the long run. "Normal" is not an option.

Communication?  That’s been changing for decades, too.  The modern smartphone didn’t really exist before 2007 (sorry Blackberry users).  Today, many of us feel naked without our devices (some of which are used for, you know, making phone calls).  Many offices have dropped the traditional desk phone for either a computer-based VOIP or wirelessly integrating employees smartphones. And the number of households with traditional landlines continues to plummet, replaced by an array of smart devices that help propel cord-cutting from satellite and cable to streaming and video on demand.

You get the idea.

But what about the social norms we took for granted, like dinner with friends, shaking hands, celebrating weddings, going to concerts, going to sporting events, even going to school?  If previous health crises and pandemics are any indicators, the things we may have taken for granted will return.  Yes, there will be some changes to their physical settings, but it will also be combined with the development of new therapeutics and vaccines.

Our “normal” has constantly reinvented itself and will continue to do so.  We will adapt to conditions imposed upon us (such as those imposed by this virus) as quickly as we adapt to conditions created by innovation.  So don’t get hung up on “normal” or the "new normal".