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Urban density and Covid-19: towards an adaptive approach
A literature review and analysis is presented on the influence that urban density has on the diffusion of Covid-19. Six main categories of factors are identified: urban settlement, socioeconomic factors, urban services, urban environment, policies and time. At this stage there is no scientific consensus about the effect of density. Urban connectivity appears to play a bigger role in the diffusion of the pandemic. Important gaps are identified in the literature on the compared governance of risk and the density at the building level. More research should be directed to the evaluation of adaptation measures adopted by cities, communities and individuals. The relation between urban density and health issues should be framed in a vulnerability perspective, considering the interplay between exposure, sensitivity and the adaptive capacity of cities.Policy relevanceGiven the lack of consensus between scientific studies, it is too early to reverse the existing policies and recommendations that promote dense and compact development. Instead, more attention should be paid to the types/conditions of density and the equitable access to urban services and green infrastructures in order to minimise risks and lower the burden of social-distancing measures in dense environments. Resilience policies should focus on addressing deficiencies in the existing urban environment that are at the core of the epidemic outbreak. These policies should be based on a close collaboration with local communities and intermediate actors (e.g. planners, architects, health officials, etc.) to address social, economic and technological inequalities.
Journal Article
Soft city : building density for everyday life
\"Imagine waking up to the gentle noises of the city, and moving through your day with complete confidence that you will get where you need to go quickly and efficiently. Soft City is about ease and comfort, where density has a human dimension, adapting to our ever-changing needs, nurturing relationships, and accommodating the pleasures of everyday life. How do we move from the current reality in most cites-separated uses and lengthy commutes in single-occupancy vehicles that drain human, environmental, and community resources-to support a soft city approach? In Soft City David Sim, partner and creative director at Gehl, shows how this is possible, presenting ideas and graphic examples from around the globe. He draws from his vast design experience to make a case for a dense and diverse built environment at a human scale, which he presents through a series of observations of older and newer places, and a range of simple built phenomena, some traditional and some totally new inventions. Sim shows that increasing density is not enough. The soft city must consider the organization and layout of the built environment for more fluid movement and comfort, a diversity of building types, and thoughtful design to ensure a sustainable urban environment and society. Soft City begins with the big ideas of happiness and quality of life, and then shows how they are tied to the way we live. The heart of the book is highly visual and shows the building blocks for neighborhoods: building types and their organization and orientation; how we can get along as we get around a city; and living with the weather. As every citizen deals with the reality of a changing climate, Soft City explores how the built environment can adapt and respond. Soft City offers inspiration, ideas, and guidance for anyone interested in city building. Sim shows how to make any city more efficient, more livable, and better connected to the environment\"-- Publisher's website.
Book
Place, Productivity, and Prosperity
Place matters for productivity and prosperity. Myriad factors support a successful place, including not only the hard infrastructure such as roads, but also the softer elements such as worker skills, entrepreneurial ability, and well-functioning institutions. History suggests that prosperous places tend to persist, while “left behind” regions, or those hurt by climatic, technological, or commercial shocks, struggle to catch up. This division gives rise to demands to “do something” about the subsequent spatial inequality. Such pressures often result in costly spatially targeted policies whose outcomes disappoint because of a lack of analysis of the underlying barriers to growth and structural transformation and a fair appraisal of the possibility of overcoming them.
The latest volume of the World Bank Productivity Project series, Place, Productivity, and Prosperity: Revisiting Spatially Targeted Policies for Regional Development makes three broad contributions. First, it provides new analytical and empirical insights into the three drivers of economic geography—agglomeration economies, migration, and distance—and the way in which they interact. Second, it argues that these forces are playing out differently in developing countries than they have in advanced countries: urbanization is not accompanied by structural transformation, leaving cities simply crowded and accruing all the negative aspects of urbanization without being productively concentrated. Long-term amelioration of poverty in lagging regions requires advancing the overall national agenda of structural change and productivity growth. Third, the volume provides a heuristic framework with which to inform policy makers’ assessments of place-based policy proposals, enabling them to identify the regions in which policy is likely to have an impact and those that are nonviable; to clarify the implications of various policy options; to think critically about policy design priorities, including necessary complementary policies to, for instance, infrastructure investment; and to navigate implementation challenges.
eBook
A Model for Future Development Scenario Planning to Address Population Change and Sea Level Rise
Population growth and land use change often have significant environmental impacts, affecting biodiversity, water supply, agricultural production, and other resources. Future scenario models can provide a better understanding of these changes, helping planners and the public understand the consequences of choices regarding development density, land use, and conservation. This study presents a model that has been used to identify alternative future scenarios for Florida considering future population growth and land use. It includes two scenarios: a “Sprawl” scenario reflecting a continuation of current development patterns and a “Conservation” scenario with higher densities, redevelopment, and more land protection. The study incorporates sea level rise scenarios for both 2040 and 2070. Results show that the Sprawl scenario could lead to 3.5 million acres of new developed land and 1.8 million acres of lost agricultural land by 2070 in Florida. In contrast, the Conservation scenario for 2070 results in 1.3 million fewer acres of developed land and 5 million more acres of protected natural land, showing that it is possible to accommodate future population growth while reducing impacts to agricultural and conservation priorities in Florida. Although this is by no means a “prediction” of future Florida, it has been useful as a tool for evaluating potential future land use scenarios and is a model that may be more broadly applied by other locations and users.
Journal Article
Public Greenspace and Life Satisfaction in Urban Australia
This paper examines the influence of public greenspace on the life satisfaction of residents of Australia's capital cities. A positive relationship is found between the percentage of public greenspace in a resident's local area and their self-reported life satisfaction, on average corresponding to an implicit willingness-to-pay of $1172 in annual household income for a 1 per cent (143 square metres) increase in public greenspace. Additional results suggest that the value of greenspace increases with population density and that lone parents and the less educated benefit to a greater extent from the provision of public greenspace than the general population. In all, these results support existing evidence that public greenspace is welfare enhancing for urban residents and adequate allowance should be made for its provision when planning urban areas.
Journal Article