Remote will have a ripple effect throughout urban markets. While physical offices and multifamily will bear the brunt of the impact, reduced commuter traffic could have a positive effect on urban centers. The DCBID in Downtown Los Angeles is looking closely at the effect of reduced commuter traffic and how it could change the dynamic and culture of the urban core—potentially for the better.

"A reduction in commuter traffic and parking [could] also potentially have positive impacts on the Downtown lifestyle," Nick Griffin, executive director of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, tells GlobeSt.com. "One of the things we have been examining is that if fewer people need to be Downtown, it could create more space for those who want to be Downtown, whether that is workers, residents, or visitors."

Retail activity will be front and center in this change, particularly in the beginning. Griffin predicts that it could lead to higher vacancy rates. "How this plays out in the retail sector will be interesting, as well," he says. "Brick-and-mortar retail was already facing headwinds and change, and this crisis has turbo-charged that. Marginal players probably will not survive, and we may end up with a much higher rate of vacant ground floor spaces, as was already the case in many major cities."