What Cities Can Learn from the Coronavirus Pandemic

covet 19.

is it threatening our cities as you’re

staying at home

cancelling all your social gatherings

and your summer vacation plans

what are your thoughts on how this

crisis is changing our cities

high density and connectivity are what

make our cities exciting places to live

yet they also make virus to spread very

rapidly

we’re seeing our big and globally

connected cities

become a hotbed of kovind 19.

we are also continuously reminded to

avoid going to crowded places

and to minimize human contact so we’re

basically told

to stop living an urban life

the technologies available today also

seem to indicate

that we can now live and work

well back in the late 1980s scholars had

actually predicted the deaths of cities

with the event of ict

today cities are where more than half of

the world’s populations live

and they generate more than 80 percent

of global gdp

technology is not replacing cities and

one of the main reasons

is because face-to-face interaction is

important we’re seeing a rising trend of

remote working during this pandemic

but this is likely made possible because

people have already built the personal

relationships

and learned the tacit knowledge working

offline so far

you might say well it seems like i can

get everything

ordered online these days even the

groceries and meals

and get them delivered to my door well

but think about it

this whole delivery system works because

we live in close proximity to one

another

making deliveries a profitable business

the benefit of concentrating people and

economic activities

is way too great

and the deadly diseases that have wiped

out cities before

such as the black death of the 14th

century

and the spanish flew in the early 20th

century

which by the way infected the one-third

of world’s population

did not deter the growth of cities at

all

cities are very resilient and they will

not be disappearing anytime

soon yet changes can take place

if history teaches us anything it is

that pandemics come and go

but cities persist and can even advance

with the lessons learned from the

pandemic experience

for example a yellow fever outbreak in

philadelphia in 1793

led to the development of municipal

water works

it also allows cities to see the

importance of public sanitation

and throughout the following years

cities in the u.s carried out

major planning reforms and established

their sanitation departments

during the cholera outbreaks in the 19th

century

london realized that the disease was

caused by the contaminated water in the

city

leading to the development of modern

sewer system

in new york its iconic central park

was built to act as urban lungs and to

help supply clean water throughout the

city

with its big reservoirs

in paris the epidemics triggered

to the city’s massive renovation and

public works

and its chaotic and cramped slum streets

were replaced with wide boulevards

open public squares and of course a new

solar system

the epidemics in the 19th century taught

cities to transform themselves

into a modern city with new urban

development

urban infrastructure developments and

much improved public sanitation

then what can our cities today

learn from the coronavirus pandemic

i’m sure there are many interesting

ideas out there but i would like to

share with you the following three

points

the first point is that the covet 19 is

exposing the urban

inequality as the major problem that

needs to be sold by cities today

kovind 19 is actually thriving in

unequal societies

that have people living in subpar

conditions

for example imagine that you’re living

in an urban slum

with limited access to clean water the

most

basic prevention of washing your hands

as frequently as possible

can seem like a luxury that you cannot

afford right

also practicing social distancing seem

almost impossible

when you’re living in these cramped

spaces sharing a room with others

often the entire family

toilets are highly insufficient and one

toilet could be shared

by as many as hundreds and if not

thousands of slum dwellers

we just imagine briefly what it might be

like to face this

kovite 19 for 1 billion people out there

living in slums today

for those of you from more advanced

countries i’m sure you’re witnessing how

covet 19

is exposing some of the entrenched urban

inequalities in your society

in the case of singapore the city was

once hailed as the gold

standard in managing covet 19.

its situation quickly turned sour when

virus outbreaks

started to take place in overcrowded

dormitories of foreign workers

tucked away and hidden from this

beautiful urban landscape of singapore

the congested living quarters of

temporary foreign migrant workers

became the city’s epicenter of

coronavirus

in seoul its major outbreak in a call

center

reveal the cramped working spaces

without windows

and other precarious working conditions

driven by the cut through competition

among the subcontracting call centers

and of course in the u.s its racial

inequity

is being highlighted with much higher

number

of latinos and blacks catching the virus

than the whites

who can afford to work from home using

conference calls

who has to take crowded transport and go

to the crowded workplace

whose jobs are being lost because of

this convict 19

and who has a better chance of coming

back once the pandemic is over

automation is nothing new for sure yet

kovin 19 is speeding up this process

replacing many of the jobs in especially

those in lower skilled manufacturing and

service sectors

without dedicated policy measures

inequality is expected to worsen

significantly

if the 19th century epidemics have

revealed unsanitary urban environment as

a problem to be addressed

i say that the coronal virus pandemic is

trying to teach us

that the cities have to get together and

solve this urban inequality problem

as the cities in the past have come up

with then innovative planning solutions

to become a modern city i hope that the

cities today

can find creative and workable policy

solutions

to become an equitable and inclusive

city

my second point is that the cities are

learning to connect with each other

with compassion and solidarity during

the copied 19.

so this kind of resonates with what dean

mentioned earlier this morning as well

i want to especially share this story

when tegu was hit hard by the kovind 19

in early march

he was struggling to find enough

hospital best to

hospitalize his increasing number of

patients

guangzhou was the very first city that

voluntarily

offered to bring and treat patients from

taku

the city of tegu remembered this

kindness and reciprocated in early july

when guangzhou began to now face the

sudden increase

of fiscal view 19 cases

i find this story particularly

heartwarming

because the two cities represent the two

regions in south korea

that have been politically somewhat

conflicting for decades

the city to city support extends beyond

borders as well

in early february before its own

outbreak taekwo has sent face mask to

ohan

and in march wuhan and a few other

chinese cities

sent face masks and other protective

medical equipment

to taku showing their support

cities are also connecting a more formal

network

the metropolitan government of seoul

launched a global summit called

cities against covet 19. to build

platform of collaboration and solidarity

it brought together mayors

and experts online of course to share

the covet 19 response strategies

c-40 cities which is a global network of

mega-cities to fight climate change

also convened mayors from all around the

world to discuss the ways to fight the

school vit19 and to share the lessons

learned so far

it seems like while de-globalization is

going on or

the talk about de-globalization is going

on the cities are ever more

strengthening

their international ties and trying to

collaborate

to fight this crisis together

covet 19 of course brought out the worst

in us in some ways

people fought over toilet papers racial

attacks have been increasing in a number

of cities

and plenty of blames and accusations

were being made

yet it is also bringing out the good in

us

we’re seeing the rise of compassion

mutual support

and collaboration cities are especially

showing us that they’re capable of

building solidarity

moving political beyond political

differences historical animosities

and even ideological tensions

i hope this trend can carry forward with

cities realizing the power of

cooperation

over competition if cities can come

together

build strong urban network both

domestically and globally

i think we’ll have a better chance of

building a better future

in our new urban world

so in today’s globalization cities have

been considered as the main economic

engines of growth

and their development has been much

driven by the

global capital investments right

and cities themselves have been in a

competitive race to build the tallest

skyscrapers and iconic mega projects

to catch the global tension and to

basically fulfill and meet the interests

of the global capital

but covent 19 is absolutely putting on

hold

this fast and massive development in

cities

those of us who are used to the busy and

hectic urban lifestyles

are also forced to slow down

it’s very happy days for puppies

actually

as we look for grocery shops within

walking distance

and search for nearby parks to take a

stroll

see the clear blue skies in one of the

heavily polluted cities

we are beginning to question whether

cities can

and should be different there is now an

increasing

interest in smaller scale planning of

urban communities

that could allow for more local

lifestyle even in big cities

city leaders are seeking to encourage

more cycling and walking

and to provide greater access to green

pathways

and the 15-minute city launched by the

mayor of paris

is getting much attention the basic idea

is to build self-sufficient

neighborhoods where you can find

everything you need

within just 15 minutes of walking or

cycling from your home

crisis can be an opportunity that pushes

us

to be more creative make difficult

decisions

and to take necessary actions for change

if we take a positive spin on this the

covet 19

could be the much needed impetus for

cities to finally

and fully commit to the sustainable

development goals

and to respond to the climate change

it is an emergency break that makes

cities to pause

and regroup and to take full charge

of their future development path how our

cities will change after kovite 19

will depend on what we decide to do now

and whether or not we fully commit to

concrete actions

it is our responsibility to connect

and work together to leave a meaningful

legacy

when our future generations look back at

how our cities changed after covet 19

what will they say what do you want them

to say

thank you

you