THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
TO DENSIFY OR NOT: the pandemic as a driver of urban transformation
David Bülow
Urbanism drowning in the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. David Bülow (2020)
“The streets were all empty, The pews were all bare. The neighbours were treated Only with what we could spare. Alone we sat, fearful and forlorn, Locked in our homes, to weather this storm.” Darren C Mossman (2021)
The Covid-19 pandemic is challenging one of the basic tenets of urban orthodoxy namely that there are numerous benefits to be derived from urban density. BY LLEWELLYN VAN WYK, B.ARCH; MSC. (APPLIED), URBAN ANALYST
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liver Schaper argues that at the core of what makes dense urban environments authentic lies a network of forces that create unpredictability, serendipity and diversity – qualities that in times of social distancing appear to be a threat to our personal safety and wellbeing.1 Richard Florida, a professor in the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, agrees, arguing that the very same clustering of people that makes our great cities more innovative and productive also makes them, and us, vulnerable to infectious disease.2
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However, the question remains whether density supports higher rates of infection. David Madden argues that there is no simple relationship between urbanisation and infectious disease. He notes that researchers have traced how interactions at urbanrural peripheries create new vulnerabilities to disease, and cites a study published in 2017 that looked at 60 countries and found that, overall, infectious disease burdens decreased with urbanisation. While epidemics have periodically devastated poor and marginalised urban communities, cities have also spawned
