COVID-19, spatio-epidemiology and urban planning

Abstract

Urban life has always been characterized by the trappings of anonymity, opportunity and even risk COVID-19 has fundamentally intensified the risks of urban life;the pandemic has been a particularly urban -- possibly peri-urban -- phenomenon It has introduced a form of epidemiological relation in urban spaces, blurring the lines between health and infirmity The hospital has always occupied a fringe aspect of the urban imagination, providing a space for treatment, observation, inoculation and recovery from ailments With the emergence of COVID-19 however, the spaces of epidemiological observation and treatment have extended beyond hospitals into urban spaces in general COVID-19 is characterized by different strains and susceptibilities to infection;for instance, younger people have comparatively milder symptoms In effect, urban social relations have become epidemiological relations;mere proximity and movement prompt questions of one's state of health Everyday spaces are deemed potential hotspots, every urbanite potentially infectious Proximity, movement and location have become matters of urban-health and public policy Various urban planning strategies have therefore been introduced to regulate urban spaces, movement, proximity and risks of infection One such strategy is the tracking of potential COVID-19 urban hotspots and populations