Urban Design Initiatives in Drought-prone Areas dealing increasing Water Demand as Pandemic Covid-19 Impact

The Covid-19 pandemic becomes a primary issue in urban development that requires several supporting facilities and infrastructures to handle. The adequate water supply to ensure the washing hand and bathing as part of health protocol implementation is crucial for drought-prone areas. Meanwhile, the government strategies on drought handling by assisting the water trucks are considered a temporary solution. Hence, this study examines urban design initiatives to deal with Covid-19 impact on the water sector, particularly in Semarang drought-prone areas. The research used a quantitative method by overlaying physical variables such as the soil type, slope, and water supply coverage to determine the drought level map. Afterward, the drought level compared with the population growth and community's economic capacity to describe the area's vulnerability. Besides, the existing drought handling strategies were analyzed to examine the impact. This study utilized secondary data such as the government institution websites as well as Google maps. The analysis results point out that most of drought-prone areas did not serve by government water service and relied on the community-based water supply system. In addition, 25% of the inhabitants are categorized as a low-income community, so that they prefer to take water from the river or spring than have to expend more to buy the water. Meanwhile, the existing initiatives on drought handling did not have significant impacts because of a lack of knowledge and unclear regulation. The Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) concept has already been adopted, yet the implementation was still small-scale and unsustained. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the physical, socio-economic, and political aspects in implementing the drought handling initiatives.

Vulnerability of Communities in Drought-Prone Areas during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Semarang City

Covid-19 pandemic still becomes a primary problem that influences many aspects. Some of the government efforts to reduce the spread of this virus are by continuing to urge people to comply with health protocols, one of which is by washing their hands after doing activities. This has implications for the water demand that rises and becomes an essential issues for drought-prone areas, especially when entering the dry season. Therefore, this study aims to examine the vulnerability of communities in drought-prone areas due to the increased demand for clean water during the pandemic. This research used a quantitative method by comparing water demand with the ability of water supply from the government and the community. The study uses secondary data from government agencies. The results of this study are to determine the vulnerability of drought-prone areas by dividing them into three zones, namely low, medium, and high. In addition, the results of this study are expected to provide recommendations to the government regarding the provision of clean water for the community during a pandemic. This is important because the efforts of the Semarang City government to overcome drought have tended to be reactive and unsustainable. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

Walkable Environment: Building resilient and healthy cities post-pandemic

This paper explores the urban population's walking behaviour and mobility pattern within a walkable environment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the selected neighbourhood in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data was collected through an online questionnaire survey. The key findings revealed that the pandemic limits pedestrian movement and changes their travelling methods due to the Malaysian government's Movement Control Order (MCO). As a result, walking and public transportation usage have declined due to the fear of proximity in public areas. Hence, further recommendations are required to ensure walking sustainability for daily routines whilst promoting resilient and healthy cities.

Mapping of Re-Assessing Gentrification Process Post-Pandemic COVID-19 in The Old Town Semarang, Indonesia

The revitalization of The Semarang Old Town revived this area as a tourist destination and generated regional economic growth. Several new restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, and other economic activities emerge along with tourism development. Job vacancies were offered and attracted newcomers to work as well as to invest. Consequently, properties that previously had no economic value became a potential asset, increasing land prices and building rental prices significantly. Hence, gentrification becomes an inevitable phenomenon. Local communities previously inhabited vacant buildings for years were displaced because the buildings would be restored and then rented out. However, these situations changed after the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, that many restrictions on community activities, including tourism. Visitors’ numbers decrease drastically, making many businesses in the Old Town suffer losses. It pointed by several coffee shops and restaurants closed, or they did not extend the rents. In contrast, the number of informal sectors which restricted surged in line with many work terminations. Hence, this study aims to re-assess the gentrification process along with the socio-economic changes after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a quantitative method by applying the spatial analysis method, which compares aspects such as physical transformation, space use, land prices, rent prices, land ownership, and population growth before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.