Mar 17, 2020
Cities and pandemics The COVID-19 pandemic has spread worldwide, driven by global urban interconnection and perpetuated by human contact. The repercussions of this pandemic go far beyond health, affecting the economy and society at large. As we are all experiencing, many affected countries have declared a state of emergency and have imposed social distancing measures,…
Mar 16, 2020
I am writing this text from my apartment in Milan and today is my 10th day confined at home. It seems incredible now, to think that I spent last Thursday evening planning the weekend for my kids. The entire city is now at home, streets are empty and silent – our movement reduced to the…
Mar 16, 2020
As concerned governments around the world impose emergency measures to “flatten the curve” and slow down this pandemic, public transportation struggles with its central role of keeping cities connected while avoiding serving as a convenient vector for the virus. To reduce contact, many transit agencies have suspended fares, changed boarding procedures, and mobilized their workforce…
Mar 16, 2020
It’s now been a few weeks since office employees around the world have been forced to trade in their office desks for dining room tables. As each day passes and COVID-19 continues to blaze across the globe it’s likely that some people are beginning to ask themselves—will I ever go back to the office? This…
Mar 16, 2020
We are watching the pandemic’s effects on mobility, public space, community, and “social distancing” in real-time. While it is challenging to cut through people’s fears at this early stage, it is crucial to reflect on the impacts this crisis will have on urban life-as-a-we-know-it, the weaknesses of our governance, healthcare, and infrastructure systems, and the…
Mar 13, 2020
Only a few days ago, most of us would not have known that a whole new vector was in play in our big cities – cities in the US, in Europe, in Iran, in China, and most probably in locations we are not yet recognizing. Cities have long been sites for far more diverse conflicts…
Mar 13, 2020
In Homo Sacer, the Italian philosopher writes of the repression which occurs when a state of exception exists; people’s lives are reduced to a biological minimum, as in the Nazi concentration camps. But this reduction can persist once the exceptional conditions pass. The sociologist Alain Touraine long ago showed how war-time conditions legitimated state regulation…
Mar 13, 2020
Disconnected policies and too-rigid adherence to out-dated rules. Inability to align community capabilities with national, or local services. One-size-fits-all emergency management. These and a panoply of other issues are currently vexing official bodies, local charities, community activists and others, each seeking to stem the Covid-19 outbreak and its effects worldwide. These are also some of…
Mar 13, 2020
Over the last decade, urban planners, designers, developers, and municipalities have begun integrating the concepts of sustainability and resiliency into their city plans. While this is a positive step, it is still not the standard; while often discussed, it is rarely formalized or implemented. More recently, themes of wellness, wellbeing, and inclusion have entered the…
Mar 13, 2020
In a world defined by the constant movement of goods, capital, people, data and all else, building a smart city is to build a city with the least friction possible in order to maximize its flow. COVID-19 reminds us that frictions are sometimes a necessity, even when the flow of people as economic actors is…
Mar 13, 2020
Be safe, stay healthy. In the post-COVID-19 world, these phrases aren’t just platitudes, they’re the mark of a movement that’s quickly pervaded every aspect of American life. Typed into email signoffs, hashtagged on social media, digitized on freeway signage, and emblazoned on theater marquees—“be safe, stay healthy” offers a constant reminder of our goals as…
Jan 30, 2020
By Jason Bird, Adam Hosking & James A. Moore Denial is not a resilience strategy. But when it comes to managing change — and especially climate change — we’re more likely to stick our heads in the proverbial sand, maintaining and protecting the status quo, than acknowledging and planning for the inevitable rising tides. That,…
