Urban public health emergencies and the COVID-19 pandemic. Part 2: Infrastructures, urban governance and civil society

Abstract

COVID-19 had sudden and dramatic impacts on the organisation and governance of urban life. In Part 2 of this Special Issue on public health emergencies we question the extent to which the pandemic ushered in fundamentally new understandings of urban public health, noting that ideas of urban pathology and the relation of dirt, disease and danger in cities, have long informed practices of planning. Emphasising important continuities in the way pandemics are associated with minoritised and vulnerable groups, past and present, we note that public health initiatives can often exacerbate existing health divides, and actually deepen health crises. Against this, we document the emergence of participatory, community-led responses to the pandemic that offered the promise of more inclusive urban policy, often characterised by self-organisation. While we argue that any public health policy needs to be mindful of local contingencies, the promise of inclusive policies is that they will lead to healthier cities for all, not simply protect the health of the wealthy few.

摘要

新冠肺炎疫情对城市生活的组织和管理突然产生了巨大的影响。在这个关于公共卫生突发事件特刊的第二部分中，我们对新冠肺炎疫情在多大程度上为城市公共卫生带来了根本性的新理解提出了质疑，并指出城市病理学的想法以及城市中污垢、疾病和危险的关系，长期以来一直影响着规划实践。在强调过去和现在，各种大流行病与少数群体和弱势群体相关联的重要连续性的同时，我们指出，公共卫生举措往往会加剧现有的健康鸿沟，实际上加深了健康危机。在这种情况下，我们记录了参与性的、由社区领导的应对这一大流行病的措施的出现，这些应对措施有望带来以自我组织为特征的，更具有包容性的城市政策。虽然我们认为任何公共卫生政策都需要考虑到当地的具体情况，但包容性政策的承诺是，它们将为所有人带来更健康的城市，而不仅仅是保护少数富人的健康。