Do global pandemics disrupt or seed transformations in cities? A systematic review of evidence

Abstract

Bolstered by the complex world we live in, research on transformations has deepened our understanding of pathways to sustainable, inclusive, smart and resilient cities. However, there has not been much comprehensive analysis on how pandemics shape urban societies, yet more than half of the human population now lives in cities. This paper attests to the question of whether pandemics disrupt or seed transformations in cities. The paper draws on a qualitative systematic review of academic literature, using Black Death in the middle ages of European societies as the mark to the advent of COVID-19 in metropolitan China. The evidence reveals that drastic disease-control measures and unprecedented restrictions on urban mobility, not only interrupt stable and coherent meanings of urban life but also negate the notion of carefully planned transformations. The analysis highline is that pandemic-induced transformations often come with conundrums within economic sectors, cyber security, public health and civil liberties, which makes the semblance of disruptive transformations appear inevitable. The evidence shows that pandemics often seed transformations in cities through fluid contexts of emergent changes in governance and urban design. Although mathematical and computer simulations predominantly guide decision-making on containment and recovery from pandemics, the evidence indicates that such data accounts for only a fraction of the information needed to confront the risks faced by cities. The paper recommends that efforts around recovery and containment of pandemics, need to be rooted in a culture of transdisciplinarity, which calls for stronger contributions from and collaborations amongst different tribes of science and sectors of governments.