June 19, 2020, an internal discussion between the GBD Innovation Club members was hold on Zoom to share about the action plans in their business districts against Covid-19 and the consequences for workplaces.

One of the biggest issues regarding a reopening is how people safely get to work. Global business districts as strong players in the world’s economy are working to fight the spread of the virus and manage the end of the lockdown.

How San Francisco managed the lockdown? What intiatives has been established by Montreal to fight the health crisis? What intiatives Marunouchi has imagined to prepare the reopening? How can the business districts rebound facing the global health crisis?

This friendly discussion allowed the leaders of global business districts to draw inspiration from the ideas and actions of their counterparts abroad. Here are the participants who attended the webinar:

• Marie-Célie Guillaume, Chairwoman, GBD Innovation Club and CEO, Paris La Défense
• Michael Edwards, President & CEO, Chicago Loop Alliance
• Andrew Robinson, Executive Director, East Cut San Francisco
• Mike Rieger, Deputy Director, East Cut San Francisco
• Pierre Lagarde, Fundraising and Development Manager, East Cut San Francisco
• Emile Roux, Executive Director, Montreal Destination Centre-ville
• Maria Tserevitinova, Development Department Director, MIBC Moscow
• Atsuhiko Kinjo, Secretary General, Marunouchi Tokyo
• Taku Tanikawa, Manager, Marunouchi Tokyo

Discover the video of the GBD Innovation Club members discussion:

Following key observations from our members:

• + Most of the companies kept working from home, the real impact in the business district was the closure of all stores and shops.
• + The lockdown changed habits and practices. This period allowed teams to evolve and accelerate digitals projects and users to rethink the way to reach the business districts.
• + The business districts represented an important player for the companies and the residents, a single point of contact to inform. This health crisis built a real community in our areas.
• + Work from home doesn’t mean the end of the business district. Nothing will exceed the human interaction and the shared energy that meeting together brings.
• + The crisis was an opportunity to evolve and thereby give importance to the business district impact on the environment. Our members are convince that their ecosystem need to transform the aging offices and buildings into modern, high quality and flexible office space, using new kinds of materials to offer responsible buildings.