Cities, you may have heard, are toast. The argument is straightforward and seemingly incontestable: The coronavirus thrives among close clusters of human beings, and nowhere are humans clustered closer than in big cities. The virus' toll seems to make the connection plain. New York City, the most populous and most dense urban area in the United States, was also the first to be devastated by the virus.

The pandemic will pass, but many fear that our response to Covid-19 may have ravaged urban economies for good. Lockdowns shuttered bars and turned restaurants into "ghost kitchens" whose primary patrons are overworked DoorDashers. The overnight shift to remote work obviated the need for office buildings and the vast economy that supports their workers, from public transit to corner stores. Online commerce, which had been decimating physical retailers for more than a decade, accelerated its crushing inevitability. Even cultural institutions seem at risk: If the musical Hamilton didn't lose much in the translation from the Richard Rodgers Theatre to Disney+, perhaps the end is nigh for Broadway, too.