Public Spaces as an Invaluable Resource for Delivering Healthy and More Equitable Cities and Communities

Abstract

The state of our cities and towns is a significant determining factor of the health and wellbeing of most of the world’s population in the twenty-first century. Cities and towns have become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has put to test the current urban development model including mobility, urban form, urban food systems and local economy. Cumulative social, economic and environmental inequalities reinforced by chronic spatial injustice have shaped exposure, vulnerability and ultimately, the risk and outcome of non-communicable, and infectious diseases. In the same context, green and public spaces have emerged as an infrastructure of opportunity to build back better, especially in low income and minority communities. This article looks at the impacts, responses and pathways for future-proofing cities and human settlements through green, and public spaces.