A collection of articles, podcast, comments and other useful links coming from the international press and the web. HOPEFULLY AN INITIAL ARCHIVE FOR A FUTURE BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Over 90 of France’s largest businesses have issued a public call for the government to prioritise the country’s ‘ecological transition’ in its economic recovery plans, reiterating their commitment to climate action.
JAMES S. MURRAY, BUSINESS GREEN, 5 MAY 2020
“How Cities Are Taking Advantage of the Coronavirus Shutdowns“
Empty streets are allowing construction crews to complete long-needed infrastructure projects at record speed.
RUSSEL BERMAN, THE ATLANTIC, 5 MAY 2020
“Coronavirus: there is an urgent need to re-open schools – this is how to make it happen“
UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he wants nothing more than to see schools back up and running following their closure during the coronavirus lockdown.
DIDIRE JOURDAN, MICHAEL MARMOT, NICOLA GRAY, THE CONVERSATION, 5 MAY 2020
“The Atlantic Daily: The Pandemic Will Change American Retail Forever“
The old economy is gone. Here’s what’s taking shape in its place. Then: Let’s talk about those “murder hornets.”
CAROLINE MIMBS NYCE, THE ATLANTIC, 4 MAY 2020
As curves have flattened in numerous countries, more lockdowns are tentatively lifting.
STEVEN VASS, THE CONVERSATION, 4 MAY 2020
“The Covid-19 Riddle: Why Does the Virus Wallop Some Places and Spare Others?“
Experts are trying to figure out why the coronavirus is so capricious. The answers could determine how to best protect ourselves and how long we have to.
HANNAH BEECH, ALISSA J. RUBIN, ANATOLIY KURMANAEV & RUTH MACLEAN, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 3 MAY 2020
How Life in Our Cities Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic
The pandemic is transforming urban life. We asked 12 leading global experts in urban planning, policy, history, and health for their predictions.
RICHARD FLORIDA, EDWARD GLAESER, MAIMUNAH MOHD SHARIF, KIRAN BEDI, THOMAS J. CAMPANELLA, CHAN HENG CHEE, DAN DOCTOROFF, BRUCE KATZ, REBECCA KATZ, JOEL KOTKIN, ROBERT MUGGAH, JANETTE SADIK-KHAN, FOREIGN POLICY, 1 MAY 2020
“City leaders aim to shape green recovery from coronavirus crisis“
Mayors coordinating efforts to support a low-carbon, sustainable path out of lockdowns
MATTHEW TAYLOR & SANDRA LAVILLE, THE GUARDIAN, 1 MAY 2020
Cities around the world are seeing dwindling numbers of fossil-fuel powered cars on their streets, and many are planning to keep it that way after lockdowns ease.
FRANCESCA PERRY, BBC, 30 APRIL 2020
As some countries start to relax restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, we assess how our view of the public realm has changed – and how it might look in the future.
A PODCAST BY ANDREW TUCK, MONOCLE/THE URBANIST, 30 APRIL 2020
“How digital tools can keep democracy thriving during lockdown“
This is not business as usual for democracy. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages, governments at all levels are having to work remotely, and postpone elections and parliamentary sessions.
ROSALYN OLD, THE CONVERSATION, 28 APRIL 2020
“Coronavirus: we’re in a real-time laboratory of a more sustainable urban future“
A pause has been forced on urban life. Quiet roads, empty skies, deserted high streets and parks, closed cinemas, cafés and museums – a break in the spending and work frenzy so familiar to us all.
PAUL CHATTERTON, THE CONVERSATION, 27 APRIL 2020
The new coronavirus has spread rapidly in cities around the globe. How might the virus make us think differently about urban design in the future?
HARRIET CONSTABLE, BBC, 27 APRIL 2020
“The world is on lockdown. So where are all the carbon emissions coming from?“
Pedestrians have taken over city streets, people have almost entirely stopped flying, skies are blue (even in Los Angeles!) for the first time in decades, and global CO2 emissions are on-track to drop by … about 5.5 percent.
SHANNON OSAKA, GRIST, 27 APRIL 2020
“Isolating the Sick at Home, Italy Stores Up Family Tragedies“
“Stay home” measures have helped Italy control the coronavirus, but home is also a dangerous place that may be propping up the infection curve the lockdown was meant to suppress.
JASON HOROWITZ & EMMA BUBOLA, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 24 APRIL 2020
Andrew Tuck brings you a special interview with Jan Gehl, perhaps the world’s best-known urban designer. Now 83, he’s waiting this pandemic out while isolating at home, enjoying spring from his garden. Sometimes all you need to steady your outlook is someone with a longer vision than yourself.
A PODCAST BY ANDREW TUCK, MONOCLE/THE URBANIST, 23 APRIL 2020
From its origin in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 has spread to become a predominantly urban-focused pandemic. Although much data on the pandemic is still unavailable, it is clear that urban areas have been at the epicentre.
DAVID SIMON, THE CONVERSATION, 23 APRIL 2020
Why Americans didn’t see this pandemic coming
OLGA KHAZAN, THE ATLANTIC, 23 APRIL 2020
“Coronavirus aftermath: how do communities recover from trauma?“
From singing on balconies, to online choirs, communities have come together – often through the use of social media groups – to support others around them in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
SUZANNE WILSON, THE CONVERSATION, 23 APRIL 2020
“Europe’s Cities Are Making Less Room for Cars After Coronavirus“
Hard-hit Milan may be leading the way in reimagining how transit and commuting patterns could change as cities emerge from coronavirus shutdowns.
FEARGUS O’ SULLIVAN, CITY LAB, 22 APRIL 2020
“Milan announces ambitious scheme to reduce car use after lockdown“
Coronavirus-hit Lombardy city will turn 35km of streets over to cyclists and pedestrians
LAURA LAKER, THE GUARDIAN, 21 APRIL 2020
At a time when the impact of the pandemic has changed our way of life, cities are showing their resilience
URBACT BLOG, 21 APRIL 2020
“Urban Density Is Not an Enemy in the Coronavirus Fight: Evidence from China“
Making a link between a city’s density and its vulnerability to epidemics may seem like an obvious connection. But it may, in fact, be off the mark.
WANLI FANG & SAMEH WAHBA, WORLD BANK BLOGS, 20 APRIL 2020
“Coronavirus: how economic rescue plans can set the global economy on a path to decarbonisation“
As states contemplate how to restart the global economy after the pandemic, it’s important to remember that we’ve been here before.
JOHN BARRY, THE CONVERSATION, 20 APRIL 2020
As cities rapidly adapt to the new realities of coronavirus, we continue to unpack the impact of those changes on urban living.
A PODCAST BY ANDREW TUCK, MONOCLE/THE URBANIST, 16 APRIL 2020
“5 IDEAS: Urban design challenges of spring weather in a pandemic“
With recent warm days foreshadowing lovely spring weather, the public health response to the worsening COVID-19 crisis seems destined to collide with the very human desire to get outside and move around.
JOHN LORINC, SPACING CANADA, 16 APRIL 2020
“The age of stability is over, and coronavirus is just the beginning“
Humanity has only recently become accustomed to a stable climate. For most of its history, long ice ages punctuated with hot spells alternated with short warm periods.
WOLFGANG KNORR, THE CONVERSATION, 16 APRIL 2020
“Temporary urban solutions help us deal with crisis – and can lead to radical shifts in city space“
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in new thinking about how cities are best organised to meet our needs. Part of this has involved short-term changes in the use of urban space.
MICHAEL MARTIN, IAIN DEAS, STEPHEN HINCKS, THE CONVERSATION, 15 APRIL 2020
“Coronavirus: lockdown’s effect on air pollution provides rare glimpse of low-carbon future“
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused industrial activity to shut down and cancelled flights and other journeys, slashing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution around the world.
PAUL MONKS, THE CONVERSATION, 15 APRIL 2020
“Smart lifts, lonely workers, no towers or tourists: architecture after coronavirus“
Is the open-plan office dead? Can skyscrapers survive? Will our phones control everything from the lights to ordering coffee? Our writer meets the architects already shaping the post-Covid-19 world
OLIVER WAINWRIGHT, THE GUARDIAN, 13 APRIL 2020
“How smart city technology can be used to measure social distancing“
Many countries have introduced social distancing measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand if these recommendations are effective, we need to assess how far they are being followed.
RONNIE DAS & PHILIP JAMES, THE CONVERSATION, 9 APRIL 2020
“CORONAVIRUS: FOUR OUT OF FIVE PEOPLE’S JOBS HIT BY PANDEMIC”
A total of 81% of the global workforce of 3.3 billion people have had their workplace fully or partly closed.
BBC, 6 APRIL 2020
“New Research Links Air Pollution to Higher Coronavirus Death Rates”
LISA FRIEDMAN, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 7 APRIL 2020 – updated 17 april 2020
“They Cleaned Other People’s Homes. Now They Fear They’re Sick.”
Housekeepers and nannies are often undocumented immigrants. As coronavirus rages, many must weigh the risk of working against the risk of unemployment.
ANNIE CORREAL & KIMIKO DE FREITAS-TAMURA, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 6 APRIL 2020
In the age of coronavirus, the only way you can see Milan is to fly through it
NICOLO’ NATALI & NIKOLA LORENZIN, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2 APRIL 2020
We need another aid bill. Elected officials have a responsibility to stabilize both communities and the housing market.
GIANPAOLO BAIOCCHI & H. JACOB CARLSON, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 1 APRIL 2020
“Urban commons: More important than ever in the age of Corona“
MARY DELLENBAUGH-LOSSE, URBAN POLICY, 31 MARCH 2020
Warning of starvation risk as lockdowns leave rough sleepers without help and vulnerable to police fines
DANIEL BOFFEY, THE GUARDIAN, 31 MARCH 2020
Subway use has plummeted in recent weeks, but in poorer areas of New York City, many people are still riding.
CRISTINA GOLDBAUM & LINDSAY ROGERS COOK, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 30 MARCH 2020
“We’ll Need To Reopen Our Cities. But Not Without Making Changes First”
We must prepare for a protracted battle with coronavirus. But there are changes we can make now to prepare locked-down cities for what’s next.
RICHARD FLORIDA, CITYLAB, 27 MARCH 2020
The latest recession may not have been caused by housing but it will play a big role in how it unfolds – from tenants facing eviction to bursting debt bubbles and falling house prices.
MANUEL B. AALBERS, TRIBUNE, 27 MARCH 2020
CITIES AFTER CORONAVIRUS: HOW COVID-19 COULD RADICALLY ALTER URBAN LIFE“
Pandemics have always shaped cities – and from increased surveillance to ‘de-densification’ to new community activism, Covid-19 is doing it already
JACK SHANKER, THE GUARDIAN, 26 MARCH 2020
More than a quarter of the world’s population is currently living under lockdown. Restrictive measures are necessary to keep us – and our cities – safe. What is the impact on our planet of people staying at home, offices closing and factories stopping?
A PODCAST BY ANDREW TUCK, MONOCLE/THE URBANIST, 26 MARCH 2020
The coronavirus outbreak may last for a year or two, but some elements of pre-pandemic life will likely be won back in the meantime.
JOE PINSKER, THE ATLANTIC, 26 MARCH 2020
Over the last weeks, confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 have soared globally, with these figures expected to continue increasing for some time to come.
MARK NIEUWENHUIJSEN, IS GLOBAL, 25 MARCH 2020
Higher public debt levels will become an economic feature and be accompanied by private debt cancellation
MARIO DRAGHI, FINANCIAL TIMES, 25 MARCH 2020
The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out.
ED YONG, THE ATLANTIC, 25 MARCH 2020
“Coronavirus: urban parks can be a lifeline – if we respect lockdown rules“
Recent statements from the UK government have made it clear that everyone, not just the elderly or those with pre-existing medical conditions, needs to play a part in controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus.
IAN MELL, THE CONVERSATION, 24 MARCH 2020
“DENSITY IS NORMALLY GOOD FOR US. THAT WILL BE TRUE AFTER CORONAVIRUS, TOO.“
The very thing that has made cities vulnerable in a pandemic has protected them in other disasters.
EMILY BADGER, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 24 MARCH 2020
This storm will pass. But the choices we make now could change our lives for years to come
YUVAL NOAH, FINANCIAL TIMES, 20 MARCH 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to rethink the politics of health in the broadest sense. In particular, we have had to confront again that vexed relationship between the state, the dominant social relations and public health.
PANAGIOTIS SOTIRIS, VIEWPOINT MAGAZINE, 20 MARCH 2020
Three prominent urban researchers with a focus on infectious diseases explain why political responses to the current coronavirus outbreak require an understanding of urban dynamics.
A PODCAST BY THE URBAN POLITICAL PODCAST, 14 MARCH 2020
The impact that quarantines can have on cities and what lessons city planners can learn when an outbreak causes borders to close.
A PODCAST BY ANDREW TUCK, MONOCLE/THE URBANIST, 12 MARCH 2020
Will COVID-19 change how cities are designed? Michele Acuto of the Connected Cities Lab talks about density, urbanization and pandemic preparation
IAN KLAUS, CITYLAB, 6 MARCH 2020
“Outbreaks like coronavirus start in and spread from the edges of cities”
Emerging infectious disease has much to do with how and where we live. The ongoing coronavirus is an example of the close relationships between urban development and new or re-emerging infectious diseases.
ROGER KEIL, CREIGHTON CONNOLLY, S. HARRIS ALI, THE CONVERSATION, 17 FEBRUARY 2020
FUTURE AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE 