It is overwhelming hospitals, demolishing commerce, restricting access to public spaces, straining digital infrastructure, intensifying mental health challenges, and forcing people indoors. In the absence of a vaccine, many of these disruptions could become permanent. Considering the world economy and financial turmoils of the trade war era, urban centers were already facing chronic revenue shortfalls and budget deficits even before the pandemic. And then the mass lockdown and suspension of area-wide activities presented a different kind of a challenge to the waning economic infrastructure. Overnight, the priorities of the government shifted to saving lives, delivering essential services, and maintaining law and order across the population. This is especially important in developing-world cities and informal settlements where rising food prices increase the risk of hunger and social unrest.
“A city’s environment is shaped not only by people who have an important influence, but by everyone who lives or works there.”
- Robert Cowan
We have to revisit urban plans to prevent the next pandemic or any kind of mass disruption. In the short term, many will introduce mass testing and digital contact tracing, retrofit buildings and public spaces for social distancing, and bolster health systems to deal with future threats. The pandemic is also accelerating deeper, longer-term trends affecting cities, such as the digitalization of retail, the move to a cashless economy, the shift to remote work, and virtual delivery of services. In a world where public transport is the only environmentally friendly commuting option, it will struggle to retain ridership without social distancing adjustments. And in the post-pandemic panic scenario, private cars, and micro-mobility schemes may become increasingly vital.
But the good side is, that the pandemic is exposing the quality of governance and scale of inequalities in our global urban planning. It is also providing an opportunity for urban planners and entrepreneurs to build back better. The challenge for the next wave of infrastructure designers and the policymakers would be to design more resilient and habitable urbanscapes. Some of them are already exploring ways to upgrade city zoning and procurement policies to promote smart density and greener investment. Our Cities are the perfect testbeds for innovations also plans that prioritize circular economics, climate resilience, and a radical intolerance of inequality. And it is time we rethink our cities and start creating a habitable ecosystem out of the mesh of steel and concrete.
“Urbanism works when it creates a journey as desirable as the destination.”
- Paul Goldberger