Open AccessPublic Spaces as an Invaluable Resource for Delivering Healthy and More Equitable Cities and Communities
Author(s) -
José Luis Chong,
Sohel Rana,
Mark Ojal
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the journal of public space
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2206-9658
DOI - 10.32891/jps.v5i3.1415
Subject(s) - human settlement , vulnerability (computing) , public health , geography , economic growth , context (archaeology) , pandemic , inequality , population , injustice , urban planning , political science , environmental planning , development economics , covid-19 , environmental health , economics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , medicine , disease , ecology , mathematical analysis , nursing , archaeology , pathology , mathematics , computer science , law , biology , computer security
The state of our cities and towns is a significant determining factor of the health and wellbeing of most of the world’s population in the twenty-first century. Cities and towns have become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has put to test the current urban development model including mobility, urban form, urban food systems and local economy. Cumulative social, economic and environmental inequalities reinforced by chronic spatial injustice have shaped exposure, vulnerability and ultimately, the risk and outcome of non-communicable, and infectious diseases. In the same context, green and public spaces have emerged as an infrastructure of opportunity to build back better, especially in low income and minority communities. This article looks at the impacts, responses and pathways for future-proofing cities and human settlements through green, and public spaces.