In our new article series, we zoom in on some specific areas and industries in the world that will emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic. This second instalment focuses on the future of education in the post-COVID-19 world. The article is based on an analysis by Futures Platform, with insight from the acclaimed Futurist Speaker Thomas Frey and Futures Platform’s Foresight Manager Marianna Mäki-Teeri.

Despite the pandemic, the larger trends in the transportation industry are not going away. The need for more environmentally friendly, resilient and comfortable ways to move around will persist and reassert itself after the lockdowns have ended.

In our new article series, we zoom in on some specific areas and industries in the world that will emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic. This first instalment focuses on deglobalisation and the self-sufficient city post COVID-19.

Vanlife has been a growing trend among bohemian digital nomads for the past decade, but in the future when people start travel again, the romantic hippie vehicle might be increasingly replaced by ultramodern portable homes with more convenient facilities. And where the world once was an oyster for travellers, it is possible they will now be happy only with a slice of that: their local hoods and woods.

The sudden drop in consumer demand is devastating to the growth and potentially hinders the development of the sharing economy as a whole. As long as the need for social distancing remains, financial damages are inevitable to companies whose sharing services are focused on travelling, vacations and social gatherings.

Do we start to see cities becoming more independent from the national states? Self-reliant cities could potentially produce up to 30% of the energy, food, water and good it consumes. Can cities provide for itself and become less dependent on the states?

The current pandemic has shown that global supply chains are highly sensitive to disruptions in times of crisis. It is possible that sooner or later the Western countries will start to repatriate at least the most critical supply chains from abroad. The key driver behind the repatriation is to ensure the security of supply. However, in some cases, economic benefits may play a part as well.

In the fight against the Coronavirus outbreak, Big Tech and corporations are joining forces to take the lead, whereas the role of national authorities has dwindled.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the environment are likely to be temporary, but they give a historic opportunity to obtain new knowledge and renew our perspectives for handling the climate crisis.

The sudden spike in the number of patients combines with the shortage of medical supplies and PPE for healthcare workers could lead to the collapse of the healthcare system. Can the healthcare system handle the crisis during the pandemic?

3D printing and Hyperloop may not seem an obvious combination. Still, they may help in easing the tight housing market and provide more flexibility and options to live in different sized cities.

The COVID-19 has shaken the lives of everyone, but the crisis will be overcome. However, economic, political and social changes are unavoidable. For this reason, it is important to anticipate the world after Coronavirus to ease the recovery.