April 17, 2020

Cities and Contagion: Lessons from COVID-19

By: Penn IUR
april2020urbanlink_web

A COVID-19 Announcement in Times Square. Image credit: Brecht Bug via Flickr.

As many have observed, cities are humankind’s earliest inventions; they have endured through war, pestilence, and depressions. They will persist into the future, though will certainly experience changes in response to the current shock.

That cities are at the frontline of today’s pandemic is not surprising. Their density makes them hotspots of the disease. Urban lockdowns will result in national GDP declines. Urban disparities, ranging from health to the digital divide to unemployment rates, are now in the spotlight. Penn IUR Fellows, Faculty Fellows, Scholars, and associates, whose contributions are below, have much to share as they reflect on COVID-19’s effects on cities and their populations yesterday and today. Taken together, their contributions demonstrate the importance of Penn’s commitment to integrating knowledge across disciplines as we hear about their research and actions in health, the humanities, social science, design, business, and education.

This issue of Urban Link inaugurates Penn IUR’s Cities and Contagion: Lessons from COVID-19 initiative. The initiative, which will include future issues of Urban Link, brings together experts across scholarly disciplines who can help interpret the pandemic’s implications for urbanization and the subsequent responses to its human and economic dimensions—work that will inform public and private decision-makers as they adapt cities to be more resilient, inclusive, and innovative. The Cities and Contagion initiative will have four parts: publications, a web-based resource library, convenings (both online and, when appropriate, in person) and research projects.

We invite you, our readers, to contribute your ideas on how cities of the future will look and function—we will publish a selection of them in the future. Please send your thoughts to cgriffin@upenn.edu.


Cities and Contagion: Lessons from COVID-19

Black Folk and COVID-19 | Elijah Anderson

Cities and Epidemics in History | David Barnes

A Return to Urbanism | Mary Frances Berry

Cities of the Future Will … ? | Eugénie Birch

Anchor Institutions During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Craig R. Carnaroli

COVID-19's Impact on Vulnerable Homeless Populations | Dennis Culhane

Parks and Trees are Public Health Measures | Sonja Dümpelmann

Agglomeration Economies Are Not Going Away | Jessie Handbury

Pandemic Response for a More Equitable Future | Carolyn Kousky

Alexandria, Egypt: Social, Cultural, and Environmental Factors | Afaf I. Meleis

Informal Settlements and Pre-Emptive Actions to Win the War against COVID-19 | James Kwame Mensah

Access to Quality Higher Education | Laura Perna

COVID-19 and Public Health Preparedness: The Need for a Paradigm Shift | Jennifer Pinto-Martin

CURA: Shipping a COVID-19 Innovative Solution | Mauricio Rodas

Moving from Uncertainty in a Rapidly Evolving Healthcare Crisis | Harvey Rubin

Urban Transportation Systems Are Essential | Megan Ryerson

An Evolving Response in Puerto Rico | David Skeel

Urban Nature Improves Mental Health | Eugenia (Gina) South

We Are Part of a Global Ecosystem | Frederick (Fritz) Steiner

There’s No Substitute for Cities | Richard Voith and Susan Wachter

COVID-19's Effects on Urban Centers | Mark Zandi

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