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Covid-19 challenges New York’s future

Cities around the world, take heed

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BY NIGHT, Manhattan holds 1.6m souls, a large number for a small island. In the morning over twice as many more rush in like a tide, filling up office blocks, coffee shops and spin classes. In the evening this tide drains back out over bridges and through tunnels, leaving just a thin residue of small-hours stop-outs and shift workers. The ebb and flow is shallower at weekends, and in summer. But it has held its rhythm for more than a century.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "The destiny of density"

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