IMAGINING TOMORROW: BUSINESS FUTURES | 59 OCTOBER 1, 2023 Back in Tokyo, Manami and Kotone have returned from Machu Picchu and gone shopping. They sit in a coffee shop while wearing XR headsets and strolling virtual aisles, advising each other on how their avatars look wearing the latest fashions. Kotone buys a dress from Chika, which last week closed its boutique in downtown Tokyo and now operates solely from a distribution center in the suburbs. The dress will be delivered to her apartment by the time she gets home. As retailers offload expensive, consumer-facing premises, and companies using VirTur’s platform rely more on work-from-home “holoployees,” commercial real estate values are in flux. Some predict that residential real estate patterns will also shift, as fewer people will want to pay a premium to live close to theaters or restaurants. Shanghai and Rio are among cities that have announced the cancellation of planned infrastructure upgrades, anticipating less use of public transportation. THE WORLD OF REDESIGNING THTHEE I IMAMAGIGINANATIONTION THE AGE OF “TECHNO-POLITICS” LIFE E ECONOMYCONOMY (IN)SECURITY