The COVID-19 Lockdown Papers: insights, reflections and implications for urbanism and landscape

By Marcus Grant

Marcus Grant CMLI is Editor-in-Chief of Cities & Health

On 25 March 2020, Cities & Health journal put out an international call for think pieces, as initial reflections, in response to what was being witnessed, as town and cities started to respond to the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. As part of an ongoing collaboration with Landscape, here is a series of abstracts summarising some of those responses.

Below, I provide a selection of 12 papers for Landscape. All the COVID-19 Lockdown Papers were written, peer reviewed and revised during the first wave and under national lockdown regulations. Thus, they represent a unique record of observations and thoughts. Our authors confronted the task with innovation and insight. These conditions offered a novel lens to observe people and communities in neighbourhoods and urban support systems under stress. In many cases, this showed that previous health challenges and vulnerabilities became further compounded. We hope these papers help to support the case for addressing the structural problems for urban health and city sustainability – landscape practitioners and urbanists have a central role to play.

For ease of accessibility, we present these 12 think pieces in four categories. You will, of course, find many other themes and cross-cutting issues of interest. You can find all of these as full papers, and more, at the Cities & Health journal website (bit.ly/CitiesxHealth). If you are viewing the digital version of Landscape the links to each paper have been provided.

Open space and public realm

Green Space and the Compact City: planning issues for a ‘new normal’

We trace the emergence of urban public green space as an issue of concern for planning. Using this platform, we then discuss the emergence of the compact city idea and how this conceives the design and use of such spaces. Using four categories: form & features, distribution, connectivity and resilience – we identify issues to be prioritised in future research for the planning of urban green space in the ‘new normal’ of social distancing consequent on COVID-19. By Mick Lennon

The public realm during public health emergencies: Exploring local level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Public parks and recreational spaces are now some of the main outlets for people to get outdoors, however COVID-19 has created challenges in these spaces. We classify local government responses around maintaining physical distancing in the public realm using a preliminary conceptual map of theories and actions to identify variations in these approaches around the globe. By Alexander Wray, John Fleming & Jason Gilliland

How the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the lack of accessible public spaces in Tehran

Development trends in Tehran, Iran, have caused high population density, centralised public spaces, car-oriented streets, and smaller houses. Postpandemic, the city should reclaim the flexibility, diversity, and accessibility of public spaces and revise the legislative and financial tools of municipalities for creating a compact city. By Parnian Kordshakeri & Ehsan Fazeli

Living conditions and biotic systems

Global change increases zoonotic risk, COVID-19 changes risk perceptions: a plea for urban nature connectedness Ebola and COVID-19 are textbook emerging diseases influenced by humans. Ebola is often considered a result of exotic nature threatening health. Conversely, COVID-19 emerged in an urban environment. To prevent and mitigate zoonotic pandemics, policy should promote nature connectedness and integrate nature-city-inhabitant interactions. By Maarten P.M. Vanhove, Séverine Thys, Ellen Decaestecker, Nicolas Antoine-Moussiaux, Jeroen De Man, Jean Hugé, Hans Keune, Ann Sterckx & Luc Janssens de Bisthoven

Nature-based restorative environments are needed now more than ever

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to remain indoors for long periods of time. However, the biophilic draw for people to go to natural places became apparent, despite in many cases their closure. We explore the need for more injections of nature throughout our cities, in the in-between spaces, to create a feeling of restoration and benefit health. By Kaitlyn Gillis

Biotic systems as a critical urban infrastructure during crisis: Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed the way urban resilience and wellbeing are viewed. We use the COVID-19 pandemic as a lens to determine how cities might provide a good quality of life during times of crisis. We explore how cities could be support wellbeing during hard times, through the integration of biotic at varying scales throughout cities. By Andrew Jenkins

Active neighbourhoods and mobility

Activity-friendly neighbourhoods can benefit non-communicable and infectious diseases

Walkable, activity-friendly neighbourhoods are recommended for their benefits for non-communicable diseases, environmental sustainability, and economic performance. There are several pathways by which dense, mixed-use neighbourhoods with transit access and recreation facilities can reduce risk of both infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. Reducing health inequities is a core value for public health, and we comment on strategies for equitably creating activity-friendly communities. By Deepti Adlakha & James F. Sallis

Beyond active travel: children, play and community on streets during and after the coronavirus lockdown

As countries have imposed lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, cities have been transformed in many ways. In this short article, we consider changes to urban residential streets in England and call for attention to be paid not only to streets as places for active travel and mobility, but also as spaces of dwelling, playing and connecting, especially for children, their families and communities. By Wendy Russell & Alison Stenning

Will the COVID-19 outbreak propel the demand for active spaces or scare the public away?

Physical activity came into the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic as governments encouraged citizens to stay active for their wellbeing, shut indoor sports clubs and gyms, and put strict limitations on exercise in densely populated areas. Could the “safety” of exercising outdoors result in a boom in the demand for active urban spaces? Or will people become too afraid to exercise in crowded public spaces all together? By Rachel Payne

The way we live; Future trajectories

Urbanization and biodiversity loss in the post-COVID-19 era: complex challenges and possible solutions

Although biodiversity conservation and restoration can significantly contribute to environmental health in urban areas, rapid urbanization undermines biodiversity in various ways. One challenge that will arise after the COVID-19 pandemic is the accelerated expansion of urban areas through more informal settlements due to increased poverty and increased urban sprawl. We posit major issues for future research and practice to be scrutinized in the post-COVID-19 era. By Amin Rastandeh & Meghann Jarchow

Policy-making for an ‘unruly’ public?

The initial response to COVID-19 in the UK took on a culture of decisionmaking, based on the notion of an inherently ‘unruly’ public, that was self-defeating. This glossed over the diversity of socio-economic contexts, the complexity of the science, and the value of engaging with stakeholders possibly limiting the effectiveness of urban governance. Can we identify approaches that better support collective responses to strategic problems of community wellbeing? By Lucy Natarajan

Urban forms and green infrastructure – the implications for public health during the Covid-19 pandemic

Recent health issues have raised awareness among the general public and stimulated debate over the future forms of urban living. Those factors which enhance healthier environments are receiving broader recognition in maintaining the health of citizens in a time of pandemic. We explore the framework of ecosystem services to examine temporary interventions that may also indicate possible pathways for the future. Analyses of the impact of forms of urban settings and particularly of green infrastructure to improve citizens’ health support our reflections. By Malgorzata Hanzl