How can our disciplines respond to the changing socioeconomic landscape brought by technology progress?

Technology progress continues to raise the return to capital, while reduce the demand for labor. It seems that the rising income inequality and the shrinking of the middle-class in much of the developed world will only get worse in the foreseeable future. Even in the rapidly developing countries, these changes also post great challenges.  What do these changes mean for the disciplines of architecture and urban planning? How can our research and teaching inform strategies to proactively address these structural forces, rather than just managing to survive? Would it be possible for the outside world to look to our disciplines for some of the solutions?