Why social animals will preserve the City of London

I heard on the news today that officially today (17 January) is the most depressed day of the year.  Post-Xmas debt is at its maximum; the weather is invariably dark and dreary; the newness of the presents has worn off and, frankly, there is just nothing to look forward to.

View from Paramount in Centre Point

This evening, as a bit of a pick-me-up on such a depressing day, I went with a few colleagues to the Paramount Club which is based on the top floors of Centre Point above Tottenham Court Road Station.  Before you think "how pretentious" this is not some private members' club and this was my first visit (but will not be my last).  The views of London are truly stunning (see rather poor BB photo) and, probably, unbeatable although once completed The Shard might give it a run for its money.

Looking down across the West End and to the City and Canary Wharf I considered the following issue:

As businesses constantly consider ways to drive down costs and as technological advances continue to increase the ease with which work can be carried out in any geographical location how can expensive areas such as the City of London and Canary Wharf expect to be around in, say, 50 years time?

The truth is that I do not know the answer but I can posit one possible reason to remain optimistic - human beings are social animals.  Nothing proves this more than the growth in the use of social media over the last 2 to 3 years.

It might be thought that it is that same growth in social media which threatens the very bricks and mortar I believe it is likely to save.  But this all depends on how you view the various social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).  Are they intended to replace physical proximity or to facilitate it?
From personal experience I believe that they cannot replace it.  They can replicate some of the closeness originally only available by talking to someone face to face or, since the invention of the telephone, at the other end of the line.  With improved video conferencing face-to-face will be possible without leaving your desk.

However, no matter how much they improve and become part of our lives they cannot replicate one important element - the shared experience that comes in being in the same place at the same time.
Being a social animal is not about simply talking to and communicating with others.  It is about sharing experiences with them.  If this were not the case why do banks have huge trading floors?  It cannot be just about the communication but rather the need for physical proximity.

This human requirement is something which resonates particularly within the client-adviser relationship.  The uninitiated might have thought that with all the forms of communication available today there is no reason why an adviser should ever physically meet a client.  Yet, I am confident that if you ask most (if not all) clients which of their advisers they "trust" the most it will be the ones who they meet up with every now and then.  The others might e-mail them; might link with them on LinkedIn or follow their tweets on Twitter but none of that is a replacement for sitting together at a table just chatting.

So for as long as human beings remain social animals the City and Canary Wharf will be well populated.