Downtown caller

While overall economic activity has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the recovery of city centers remains a work-in-progress, notes a study from the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. By tracking cell phone activity by location, the report’s authors are able to gain a more granular view of activity than economic data typically reported on the basis of a broader metropolitan area. Focusing on the presence of cell phone users in city centers, the report ranks the recovery of city centers relative to pre-pandemic data. For instance, in downtown San Francisco, the number of cell phone users present in the fall of 2022 were at 31% of the levels recorded in the fall of 2019. At the same time, Salt Lake City saw cell phone activity at 135% of pre-pandemic levels. Notably, in many smaller cities that have seen an influx of total new residents, their city centers have not fully recovered. The data corresponds to our recent note The new normal which among other data points, highlighted low office utilization rates.

Source: University of Toronto, January 2023