Temporary Urbanisms as Policy Alternatives to Enhance Health and Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic City

Lauren Andres,John R Bryson,Paul Moawad

doi:10.1007/s40572-021-00314-8

Lauren Andres, John R Bryson + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-021-00314-8

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Abstract

Purpose of ReviewWhile there has been extensive discussion on the various forms of temporary uses in urban settings, little is known on the ways in which temporary and health urbanisms connect. Now, a turning point has been reached regarding the interactions between health and the built environment and the contributions made by urban planning and other built environment disciplines. In the context of the post-pandemic city, there is a need to develop a health-led temporary urbanism agenda than can be implemented in various settings both in the Global South and North.Recent FindingsHealth-led temporary urbanism requires a reinterrogation of current models of urban development including designing multifunctional spaces in urban environments that provide sites for temporary urbanism-related activities. A healthy city is an adaptable city and one that provides opportunities for citizen-led interventions intended to enhance well-being by blending the temporary with the permanent and the planned with the improvised.SummaryHealth-led temporary urbanism contributes to the call for more trans- and inter-disciplinary discussions allowing to more thoroughly link urban planning and development with health.

Highlights

We are arguing that in the context of the post-pandemic city, there is a need to develop a health-led temporary urbanism agenda constructed upon the different types of temporary urbanism and applicable in various settings both in the Global South and North
Such approach contributes to the call for more trans- and interdisciplinary discussions allowing to more thoroughly link urban planning and development with health
It is apparent that health-led temporary urbanism must be supported by agent-based modelling to test designs and to intelligently simulate people flows and encounters

Summary

Introduction

The connection between temporary urbanism and health can be uncovered in three ways (see Table 1), and each, as we will explore, has wider policy implications: first in tackling overall well-being and liveability within the context of urban spaces; second in ensuring everyday coping for vulnerable communities including access to basic needs; and third, in constituting rapid solutions in the context of crisis, while being considered as unhealthy urban features.

Unplanned and unregulated uses of space and practices

Conclusion