Still, urban centers may show more durability than big-box malls, since it is easier to socially distance on sidewalks and streets than on escalators and elevators, said Clinton Andrews, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers University. Across downtowns, the economic losses will likely be uneven, with an economically distressed township such as Irvington unable to bounce back as quickly as a Princeton, Andrews said.
“We are going to continue seeing this uneven patchwork,” Andrews said. “I won’t say some towns will disappear, but I will say some downtowns will fail to draw.”