Hi John! Thanks for sharing this! It's a little tough to jump into the middle of a piece without broader context, but I think there are some ways to shift to using the active voice and a little tighter writing:
Before COVID, the carrots dangled in the faces of employees were plentiful: free breakfasts? Rest pods? Downtown office culture was focused on one thing: encouraging people to spend all their waking hours in the office.
Home for many was a studio apartment in a "five over one" — a style of construction with five floors of wood over one floor of concrete. The thinking behind this residential style was intentional, if not claustrophobic: with a high density per square mile, no or limited parking, no public space, and limited room for entertainment, tenants were a captive audience for the gyms, bars, and restaurants in the ground floors.
When COVID shuttered offices and places of entertainment, the shallow roots of this lifestyle became clear. Many who worked from home left the city and moved into more fully diverse communities where they could build a richer social life and put down some real roots. In the drive to save the downtown economy, it's worth asking: whose economy are we trying to save?"
Hi John! Thanks for sharing this! It's a little tough to jump into the middle of a piece without broader context, but I think there are some ways to shift to using the active voice and a little tighter writing:
Before COVID, the carrots dangled in the faces of employees were plentiful: free breakfasts? Rest pods? Downtown office culture was focused on one thing: encouraging people to spend all their waking hours in the office.
Home for many was a studio apartment in a "five over one" — a style of construction with five floors of wood over one floor of concrete. The thinking behind this residential style was intentional, if not claustrophobic: with a high density per square mile, no or limited parking, no public space, and limited room for entertainment, tenants were a captive audience for the gyms, bars, and restaurants in the ground floors.
When COVID shuttered offices and places of entertainment, the shallow roots of this lifestyle became clear. Many who worked from home left the city and moved into more fully diverse communities where they could build a richer social life and put down some real roots. In the drive to save the downtown economy, it's worth asking: whose economy are we trying to save?"