Will the Corona Crisis Improve Urban Planning?

With the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, infecting hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, urban planners and city authorities are bound to rethink city planning, say experts – and it won’t be the first time an epidemic leads to changes.

“Historically, epidemics have acted as catalysts in transforming how diseases are handled, especially in urban areas,” explains Annie Wilkinson, a research fellow at the UK-based think tank, the Institute of Development Studies, adding that planners will also have to consider the effects of wealth inequality, with those living in slums or on the streets at higher risk of contracting disease.

“It is likely that COVID-19 will prompt a rethink of urban design and planning in the Asia-Pacific region,” adds Tony Matthews, senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning at Australia’s Griffith University. “There will probably be consideration of desirable population density levels, a greater utilisation of apps and smart data to track health trends, and many cities will probably start to think about their food security more closely.”

Countries such as China and South Korea, for example, are using robots and drones to disinfect hospitals, deliver medical supplies and keep track of the outbreak – all technological potentials to providing a quicker response to future problems, says Matthews.