DESPITE EFFORTS to pull staff back to the office, remote work has become entrenched in America. City centres have recovered, but only partially. On average, 15% of workers across the country’s biggest metropolitan areas toil at home on most working days. In some places the share is close to a quarter. They may continue to live and work in a city, or from a house in its suburbs, but they are less likely to commute to its centre. City officials knew that this would change the economics of their downtowns. But the full effect is only just appearing, as office leases signed before the pandemic expire.