Cities and COVID-19: navigating the new normal

IF 4.6 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Global Sustainability Pub Date : 2021-03-09 DOI:10.1017/sus.2021.10
Iman Khan, M. Iftikhar, Saleem H. Ali, Shua Khalid
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引用次数: 7

Abstract

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 to urban density. Using the case study of Karachi, Pakistan, we find that inequality of income, healthcare, and living conditions is a major contributing factor to the spread of COVID-19. Data on positive COVID-19 cases, density, and socioeconomic status were obtained at the Union Council level from administrative districts of Karachi, Pakistan between March 2020, and July 2020. Despite low population densities, low-to-middle income neighborhoods in Karachi had a higher proportion of positive cases. Further, the experience of dense cities such as Hanoi in Vietnam and New York in the US differs regarding the spread of COVID-19. Hence, the government's response to the pandemic is also a major factor in containing the outbreak. Our findings suggest that a crisis in a city is exacerbated by its inability to take advantage of its density, inequality in the distribution of resources, lack of inclusiveness, and centralized governance mechanisms that make it difficult to respond quickly to situations. Thus, urban planning scholarship and practice should take an interdisciplinary approach to make cities equitable, inclusive, and adaptive. Social media summary Cities in the developing world have an opportunity for more resilient renewal in the post-COVID world.
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城市与COVID-19:引领新常态
城市密度被错误地视为新冠病毒在城市传播的主要因素。对现有文献的回顾和我们对巴基斯坦卡拉奇的案例研究结果表明,收入、医疗保健和生活条件方面的不平等在传染病的传播以及政府对流行病的反应中发挥了关键作用。展望未来,城市政策需要通过改变住房政策和分散的治理体系来解决这些不平等问题。城市必须适应可持续的出行方式,减少数字不平等,并鼓励以人为本的城市规划,使其在面对大流行病时具有复原力。2019冠状病毒病改变了城市居民与城市的关系。城市中心已经成为疾病的中心,这引发了人们对高密度住区和公共交通使用的长期可持续性的质疑。然而,人们错误地将COVID-19在城市中的传播归因于城市密度。通过对巴基斯坦卡拉奇的案例研究,我们发现收入、医疗保健和生活条件的不平等是导致COVID-19传播的一个主要因素。在2020年3月至2020年7月期间,从巴基斯坦卡拉奇行政区获得了联邦理事会一级的COVID-19阳性病例、密度和社会经济状况数据。尽管人口密度低,但卡拉奇中低收入社区的阳性病例比例较高。此外,越南河内和美国纽约等人口密集的城市在新冠病毒传播方面的经验也有所不同。因此,政府的应对措施也是控制疫情的一个主要因素。我们的研究结果表明,城市无法利用其人口密度、资源分配不平等、缺乏包容性以及难以对情况做出快速反应的集中治理机制,会加剧危机。因此,城市规划学术和实践应该采取跨学科的方法,使城市公平、包容和适应。发展中国家的城市有机会在后冠状病毒病时代进行更具韧性的重建。
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来源期刊
Global Sustainability
Global Sustainability Environmental Science-Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
CiteScore
10.90
自引率
3.60%
发文量
19
审稿时长
17 weeks
期刊最新文献
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