Urban Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Beijing, China

Abstract

This study documented the geography of the recovery of human activity in Beijing, China, after the city successfully brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control at the end of spring 2020. By using mobile phone network data at fine spatial and temporal scales, we compared the levels of human activity in the morning, afternoon, and evening on weekdays and weekends at the microlevel (1 km × 1 km) before and after the pandemic. Both our descriptive and modeling analyses showed more recovery on weekdays than on weekends. The recovery was faster in the areas that were further away from the city center. Residence-oriented areas recovered faster than non-residence-oriented areas, particularly in the early stages of recovery. The areas with large-scale parks recovered faster, confirming the importance of parks in urban health. The presence of a university campus was a strong predictor of slow recovery in Beijing. Although people avoided using public transit during the pandemic, the level of transit service did not seem to predict urban recovery after the pandemic was under control.