Governing urban infrastructures under pandemic conditions: some thoughts

Abstract

ABSTRACT Urban infrastructure has appeared as a central feature in a range of commentaries on the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the imprint of the pandemic on cities and the power-laden processes through which they are being rebuilt requires an attention to the politics and governance of infrastructure. In this intervention, we understand the pandemic as a moment to rethink claims over how infrastructures work and how they might be studied. We focus on three dimensions where COVID-19 has underscored the importance of infrastructure governance: as pandemic condition, as pandemic vulnerability, and as pandemic response. We argue that a strand of future academic work must be attuned to the continued importance of the governance of and by urban infrastructures in a world of cities in which COVID-19 and its associated economic, environmental, and social implications are likely to remain pervasive.