Back in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a sudden shift towards remote and flexible working, there was a lot of uncertainty about what it would mean long-term.
At the time, it was difficult to separate short-term response from lasting change, particularly around how cities would function, how offices would be used, and what it might mean for commuting patterns.
In 2021, we wrote about those early shifts during the pandemic and what they might mean for cities and the built environment. A few years on, we now have a much clearer picture of how things have actually settled.
Flexible working hasn’t followed a straight or predictable path, but it has become a permanent part of how many organisations operate. The more useful question in 2026 isn’t whether it changed cities, but how those early expectations compare to what we’re actually seeing on the ground today.
From a project perspective, some of those shifts have had more practical impact than others, particularly in how buildings are being reused, how developments are being phased, and how assumptions about space and demand are now handled at early stages.
What’s clear now is that hybrid working has become the norm in many sectors, but it hasn’t settled into a single, consistent model.
Hybrid working is now normal, but not uniform
One of the biggest shifts is simply that hybrid working has become standard practice in many sectors. Most organisations have settled into some version of split working between home and office, rather than a full return to five days in a central workplace.
What started as a temporary response has, in many cases, become a permanent operating model.
What’s important, though, is the lack of consistency. There isn’t a single model that applies across the board. Some businesses have a structured split, others are more flexible week to week, and some have returned to office-heavy patterns where collaboration or client work demands it.
From a wider city perspective, that variability matters. It means weekday demand in urban centres is no longer as predictable as it once was. Instead of a consistent Monday to Friday rhythm, activity now fluctuates more depending on sector, season, and even internal company policy.
The result is not a reduction in activity overall, but a redistribution of when and how that activity happens.
Offices haven’t disappeared, but their role has changed
During and immediately after the pandemic, it was easy to assume that office demand might decline in a straightforward way. That hasn’t really happened. Instead, what we’ve seen is a restructuring of how office space is used.
In practice, many organisations have adjusted their footprints rather than removing them entirely. That often means:
- Consolidating into smaller but higher quality spaces
- Reconfiguring layouts to support collaboration rather than desk-based attendance
- Moving away from long-term static occupation towards more flexible arrangements
There has also been a noticeable increase in repurposing, particularly in older stock that no longer suits modern working patterns. That has contributed to a steady flow of conversion and redevelopment projects, especially in urban centres and established commercial districts.
So rather than offices becoming redundant, they’ve become more selective in how they’re used and where they remain viable.
Cities haven’t emptied, but they do feel different
COVID raised a lot of questions about whether city centres might hollow out, but that hasn’t played out in a straightforward way.
Cities are still very much active, but what’s changed is the way that activity is distributed across the working week. Rather than the sharper patterns seen before, there are now fewer defined peaks, more variation in midweek attendance, and a more uneven spread of activity overall.
This has had knock-on effects for surrounding areas as well. Secondary towns, suburban centres, and well-connected regional locations have all seen a more consistent level of activity than they did pre-2020. In many cases, this is supported by local workspaces, smaller offices, and mixed-use developments that allow people to work closer to where they live.
The overall picture is less about decline or growth, and more about balance shifting across different locations.
Residential and development patterns have adjusted
Another clear outcome is the way residential demand has moved. With fewer people tied to daily commuting, location decisions have become more flexible.
Many of these changes can be traced back to decisions made during the pandemic, when flexibility around location became a realistic option for a much larger proportion of the workforce.
That has supported continued demand in suburban and semi-rural areas, particularly where transport links and digital infrastructure are strong. At the same time, city living hasn’t lost relevance, but the reasons for choosing it have evolved. Proximity to work is less dominant, while lifestyle, amenities, and flexibility have become more influential.
From a development perspective, this has encouraged more mixed-use thinking. Schemes that combine residential, leisure, and workspace elements are more common, and there is a stronger emphasis on adaptability within designs, rather than single-purpose occupation assumptions.
It has also increased the amount of conversion work, particularly where older commercial buildings are being reworked into residential or hybrid spaces.
What hasn’t changed: complexity at early project stage
While working patterns and building use have shifted, one thing that hasn’t become simpler is early-stage project certainty.
If anything, the variability in how buildings are now used has made early feasibility more complex. Schemes are more likely to evolve during planning and design stages, particularly where end use is not fixed from the outset.
That uncertainty feeds into how sites are assessed and developed. More projects now require a wider range of assumptions at feasibility stage, rather than a single fixed brief that carries through to delivery.
In practical terms, that makes early-stage information more important than ever. Understanding site conditions properly at the start has become critical in avoiding redesigns, delays, or unexpected constraints later in the process.
A more uneven but more adaptable built environment
Looking at where things have landed in 2026, the overall picture isn’t one of radical transformation or collapse in traditional models. It’s more subtle than that.
Flexible working has created a more uneven pattern of activity across cities and regions, but it has also pushed the built environment towards greater adaptability. Buildings are being designed, repurposed, and occupied in ways that allow for more change over time.
For those working in development, planning, and construction, the main adjustment has been learning to operate in a less predictable environment. There is less reliance on fixed assumptions about how space will be used long-term, and more emphasis on flexibility in both design and delivery.
That shift is now embedded rather than emerging, and it’s likely to continue shaping how schemes are approached going forward.
Conclusion
What’s become clear since the early days of the pandemic, and our original discussion back in 2021, is that flexible working hasn’t followed a straight path. Some early expectations were accurate, others have played out differently, and a lot of outcomes sit somewhere in between.
Cities haven’t fundamentally lost their role, but their rhythm has changed. Offices haven’t disappeared, but they’ve been reshaped. And development hasn’t slowed, but it has become more fluid in how it responds to changing patterns of use.
From where we are now, the most accurate description is probably not transformation, but adjustment. And that adjustment is still ongoing, just in a more settled and practical way than it once appeared.
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Brought in to help take the business to the next level! His role is to improve lead generation and customer satisfaction from over 8,500 registered clients. Jim loves interacting with potential and existing clients and has a wealth of marketing and sales experience through his previous roles at O2, the RAC and TalkTalk. Jim holds a BA (Hons) Business Studies degree majoring in Marketing. A season ticket holder at Liverpool FC and a keen golfer, Jim also loves the gym!