The urban syndemic of COVID-19: insights, reflections and implications (original) (raw)
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Science of the Total Environment, 2020
Since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis the scientific community has constantly been striving to shed light on various issues such as the mechanisms driving the spread of the virus, its environmental and socio-economic impacts, and necessary recovery and adaptation plans and policies. Given the high concentration of population and economic activities in cities, they are often hotspots of COVID-19 infections. Accordingly, many researchers are struggling to explore the dynamics of the pandemic in urban areas to understand impacts of COVID-19 on cities. In this study we seek to provide an overview of COVID-19 research related to cities by reviewing literature published during the first eight months after the first confirmed cases were reported in Wuhan, China. The main aims are to understand impacts of the pandemic on cities and to highlight major lessons that can be learned for post-COVID urban planning and design. Results show that, in terms of thematic focus, early research on the impacts of COVID-19 on cities is mainly related to four major themes, namely, (1) environmental quality, (2) socio-economic impacts, (3) management and governance, and (4) transportation and urban design. While this indicates a diverse research agenda, the first theme that covers issues related to air quality, meteorological parameters, and water quality is dominant, and the others are still relatively underexplored. Improvements in air and water quality in cities during lockdown periods highlight the significant environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities and provide a wake-up call to adopt environmentally friendly development pathways. The paper also provides other recommendations related to the socio-economic factors, urban management and governance, and transportation and urban design that can be used for post-COVID urban planning and design. Overall, existing knowledge shows that the COVID-19 crisis entails an excellent opportunity for planners and policy makers to take transformative actions towards creating cities that are more just, resilient, and sustainable.
COVID-19:URBAN PLANNING AND ACTIVITIES BEYOND THE NEW NORMAL
2020
Cities across the globe are currently being tested to the extreme with the Covid-19 pandemic. It is impacting not only public health but also the economy and social fabric. Simultaneously a health crisis, social crisis, and economic crisis, Covid-19 is laying bare how well cities are planned and managed and the impact this is having on the extent to which each city is able to function-or not-especially during times of crisis. Covid-19 is a massive challenge for cities on the frontline, rich and poor alike. The measures taken to control the spread of the virus are having massive implications on cities due to their economic structure, their preparedness for such a crisis-especially the state of their public health and service delivery systems-and the extent to which their population's health and livelihoods are vulnerable, all of which are a function of the effectiveness of their urban governance systems. In normal times, there might be many attributes that cities strive to compete on and excel at the global level, including liveability, competitiveness, and sustainability, but in any given day and especially in a time of crisis, a city must function well for its citizens. Building cities that "work"-inclusive, healthy, resilient, and sustainable-requires intensive policy coordination and investment choices. National and local governments have an important role to play to take action now, to shape the future of their development, to create opportunities for all. The rapid spread of Covid-19 to almost every nation brings the recognition that we need to abandon the old, normal way of dealing with global crises. In the immediate term, we need to adopt a new (and better) normal to deal with the pandemic. And, looking ahead, we need to apply this 'new normal' in our approach to tackling the climate emergency-for our planetary crisis continues to escalate; the climate-related disasters causing death, disease and displacement are not taking a break simply because a global pandemic has taken hold. The quality of life that comes from density and sustainable mobility-the ability to reach essential destinations, to access opportunity, to enjoy the human benefits of community and the creativity generated by the many random chance encounters (call it the urban water cooler effect) that enable discovery and growth and personal enrichment-these have been temporarily taken away from us as we live our lives connected through the glare of computer screens. It will not always be this way, and we all hope sooner rather than later we will return to "normal." Let's act now to ensure that the new normal will be more sustainable, more resilient, more inclined to social cohesion. We should regroup, rethink, retool, and rebuild per our roles as urban planners and urban manager-as those whose job, and purpose, it is to spark joy by creating places people love…not just despite global crises, in spite of them. As the spread of Covid-19 has influenced individuals, communities, organisations and governments, its impacts will be on every level and scale from global networks and infrastructure to global cities and urban regions, and from residential neighbourhoods and public spaces to home and work environments, and will continue for many years to come.
The Pandemic City: Urban Issues in the Time of COVID-19
Sustainability, 2021
Pandemics have shaped the way cities are planned and configured. Throughout history, cities have evolved to solve problems of sanitation, hygiene, and health access while providing space and opportunities for the urban dwellers. COVID-19 will have significant implications in the way cities are planned. This recent crisis highlights a number of issues. This paper looks at the context for the pandemic and then reviews studies and debates in four areas: transformations in the configuration of public spaces, transportation, urban connectivities, and urban economies. This pandemic, like other similar episodes in the past, is forcing us to rethink the nature of urban space and may be an opportunity to plan for safer, more sustainable cities.
Viewpoint: COVID-19, spatio-epidemiology and urban planning
Town Planning Review, 2020
Urban life has always been characterized by the trappings of anonymity, opportunity and even risk COVID-19 has fundamentally intensified the risks of urban life;the pandemic has been a particularly urban -- possibly peri-urban -- phenomenon It has introduced a form of epidemiological relation in urban spaces, blurring the lines between health and infirmity The hospital has always occupied a fringe aspect of the urban imagination, providing a space for treatment, observation, inoculation and recovery from ailments With the emergence of COVID-19 however, the spaces of epidemiological observation and treatment have extended beyond hospitals into urban spaces in general COVID-19 is characterized by different strains and susceptibilities to infection;for instance, younger people have comparatively milder symptoms In effect, urban social relations have become epidemiological relations;mere proximity and movement prompt questions of one's state of health Everyday spaces are deemed potential hotspots, every urbanite potentially infectious Proximity, movement and location have become matters of urban-health and public policy Various urban planning strategies have therefore been introduced to regulate urban spaces, movement, proximity and risks of infection One such strategy is the tracking of potential COVID-19 urban hotspots and populations
Cities and COVID-19: navigating the new normal
Global Sustainability
Non-technical summary Urban density is erroneously regarded as the main factor in the spread of COVID-19 in cities. A review of extant literature and findings from our case study of Karachi, Pakistan indicate that inequalities in income, healthcare, and living conditions play a key role in the spread of contagions along with government responsiveness to the pandemic. Moving forward, urban policies need to address these inequalities through changes in housing policies and decentralized governance systems. Cities must adapt to sustainable modes of travel, reduce digital inequalities, and encourage people friendly urban planning to become resilient in the face of pandemics. Technical summary COVID-19 has changed how urban residents relate to their cities. Urban centers have become epicenters of disease, which has raised questions about the long-term sustainability of high-density settlements and public transport usage. However, the spread of COVID-19 in cities is incorrectly attributed...
After Covid-19: urban design as spatial medicine
URBAN DESIGN International, 2020
This article draws out key implications for urban designers from the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the relation between urban design and health. The entire world is facing the same acute health emergency of Covid-19 which is already impacting half of the global population, and as the majority of the world now inhabits urban settings, urban dwellers are the most affected. Urban Design already plays an important role in determining the health of urban populations but this relationship is often unclear, undervalued or ignored. The field of medicine is expanding to include all professionals who have an impact on the health of others, and this expanded field includes the urban design profession. After Covid-19, urban design ought to become a form of spatial medicine, whereby the design of built environments positively contributes and facilitates human and planetary health and wellbeing.
COVID-19 and the Future of Urban Life
Berkeley Planning Journal
hosted a colloquium series at which faculty and graduate students presented their work related to COVID-19. The discussion spanned a wide range of topics around urban form, economic productivity, design, food justice, housing and displacement, political movement, and social control both in the context of countries in the Global South and the U.S. This White Paper contains six essays originated from the colloquium, each bringing a unique vision of how the COVID-19 pandemic is currently shaping and will continue to shape our cities in the future and what lessons we can learn from it. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unimaginable adversity, with nations across the globe devising ways to cope with the loss of life, economic productivity, and social fabric. Due to the agnostic nature of the virus, no facet of society, whether in the Global North or South, has been left untouched. As beacons of economic and social agglomeration, the pre-pandemic city, in particular, has seen a rapid transformation, in often unforeseen directions. Local businesses have shuttered, while large technology companies have thrived; offices have closed, while their adjacent streets have been opened for active mobility and social activities; apartment rents have decreased, while single-family home prices have increased; the underprivileged have been adversely affected by both the virus as well as the economic reality of the pandemic, while the affluent have been largely untouched in both health and economy. Responses to COVID-19 in various nations have only exacerbated existing socioeconomic inequities, and, expectedly, not all federal, state, or local responses have been beneficial to all strata of society. This white paper focuses on several core themes that have evolved over the course of the pandemic and have behaved differently across geographies: (1) urban economics and equity (2) social and economic power dynamics, and (3) strategies to preserve urban social and economic systems.
Assessing Urban Policies in a COVID-19 World
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The aim of this study was to identify how the literature analyzes (identifies, evaluates, forecasts, etc.) the relationship between health issues and urban policy in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four main levels were identified in these cases: (1) direct demands for changes in health care, (2) social issues, (3) spatial organization and (4) redefining the tasks of public authority in the face of identified challenges. The basic working method used in the study assumed a critical analysis of the literature on the subject. The time scope of the search covered articles from January 2020 to the end of August 2021 (thus covering the period of three pandemic waves). Combinations of keywords in the titles were used to search for articles. The health perspective pointed to the need for urban policies to develop a balance between health and economic costs and for coordination between different professionals/areas. A prerequisite for such a balance in cities is the carrying out of socia...
From Urban-Scape to Human-Scape: COVID-19 Trends That will Shape Future City Centres
Land
The COVID-19 pandemic did not only impact all spheres of life but came abruptly to redefine our understanding of the urban-scape. With changing user-values and user-needs, there is a renewed realisation of the importance of the human-scape and how human capital, social issues, and liveability considerations will progressively lead urban development discussions. The urban-scape risk is far more complex and fragile than previously anticipated, with the future of the city centre dependent on our ability to successfully manage the transition from an urban-scape to a human-scape. This research employed a narrative review methodology to reflect on COVID-19 trends that will shape future city centres, based on expert contributions pertaining to (1) the community sector, (2) the public sector, and (3) the private sector within the Sydney Metropolitan area of Australia. The research highlighted the changing human-scape needs and associated impacts of (1) changing movement patterns, (2) changi...
iScience, 2022
Since early 2020, researchers have made efforts to study various issues related to cities and the pandemic. Despite the wealth of research on this topic, there are only a few review articles that explore multiple issues related to it. This is partly because of the rapid pace of publications that makes systematic literature review challenging. To address this issue, in the present study, we rely on bibliometric analysis techniques to gain an overview of the knowledge structure and map key themes and trends of research on cities and the pandemic. Results of the analysis of 2,799 articles show that research mainly focuses on six broad themes: air quality, meteorological factors, built environment factors, transportation, socio-economic disparities, and smart cities, with the first three being dominant. Based on the findings, we discuss major lessons that can be learned from the pandemic and highlight key areas that need further research.