Our systematic neglect of universal human needs of shelter, health and safety is set to make the poorer sections disproportionately more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic which the whole world is now struggling to contain. Architecture must carry a burden of guilt as present configurations of urban built environment normalise socio-spatial injustice and perpetuate capitalist fictions. Here, we interrogate how architecture can reclaim its social relevance, particularly in cities of the Global South, when the post-pandemic society adopts more socio-environmentally sustainable, ‘new normal’ lifestyles to build community resilience.