In the early days of the pandemic, many proclaimed that remote work would crush big cities, but last year, once COVID-19 cases began to wane, people started to return to the urban core. The recovery came faster than many expected.

"There is a return to the urban core already taking place, but the reasons why you want to be in the urban core are getting refined. People want to be in an urban core for reasons other than just to go to the office," Colin Behring, CEO of Behring Companies, tells GlobeSt.com. "When we look back at this in history, we will see this as part of a pendulum swing. You are going to see the world normalize."

In some ways the pandemic was a reminder of why people live in big cities. Work and access to jobs was only part of the value of living in a major metro. Culture and lifestyle are equal benefits to city dwellers. It is the restaurants, bars and entertainment offerings that make life in the big city so appealing, according to Behring. "Already, one-third of employees have returned to the office, but people are coming back to the urban core, even if they are remote," he says.