ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has had unprecedented impacts on urban life on a global scale, representing the worst pandemic in living memory. In this introduction to the first of two parts of a Special Issue on urban public health emergencies, we suggest that the COVID-19 outbreak, and associated attempts to manage the pandemic, reproduced and ultimately exacerbated the social and spatial divides that striate the contemporary city. Here, we draw on evidence from the papers in Part 1 of the Special Issue to summarise the uneven urban geographies of COVID-19 evident at the inter- and intra-urban level, emphasising the particular vulnerabilities and risks borne by racialised workers who found it difficult to practise social distancing in either their home or working life. Considering the interplay of environmental, social and biological factors that conspired to create hotspots of COVID-19 infection, and the way these are connected to the racialised capitalism that underpins contemporary urban development, this introduction suggests that reflection on public health emergencies in the city is not just essential from a policy perspective but helps enrich theoretical debates on the nature of contemporary urbanisation in its 'planetary' guise.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social distancing measures have dramatically reduced public transit ridership, leaving transit agencies with massive revenue shortfalls. It is unclear how long it will take for transit to recover and whether transit will emerge fundamentally transformed for better or worse after the pandemic. This research aims to collect first-hand data about travel behavior decision-making process among downtown Minneapolis commuters -- one of the largest groups of potential transit users in the Twin Cities metropolitan region -- after the pandemic is largely contained and the stay-at-home order is lifted in the region. The research team will recruit a diverse sample of downtown commuters (N=500) virtually through various forms of digital marketing tools such as website, social media, email, and online video. Interested participants will be asked to install a mobile app from the Google Play Store (for Android) or iOS App Store (for iPhone) that semi-automatically collects daily activity-travel behavior. The app will be customized to have built-in survey functions to trigger context-specific questions about how participants make various trip decisions, e.g., trip cancellation, trip generation, mode choice, route choice, and destination choice;and how their COVID-19 experiences play a role in shaping these trip decisions. Such context-specific and decision-level data will be used to develop statistical models to provide deep insights into how the mobility impacts of COVID-19 may differ by individual socio-demographics and trip environments. Results from the research will help transportation planners and engineers to identify innovative and sensible ways to effectively promote the use of public transportation in the post-pandemic era.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social distancing measures have dramatically reduced the usage of public and shared transportation services, leaving transit and shared mobility providers with massive revenue shortfalls. This research project aims to investigate the perceived safety risks and barriers that might prevent transit and shared mobility services to attract post-COVID riders in Greater Minnesota. The types of transit and shared mobility services covered in this research will not only include those currently in operation in Greater Minnesota, but also potential future transit and shared mobility services that are in conception or planning for Greater Minnesota, e.g., potential services to be provided by the Connected and Automated Vehicles. An online survey will be sent targeting Greater Minnesota residents across the state to gather first-hand data on public perceptions towards the use of transit, shared mobility, and connected and automated vehicles and the associated post-COVID safety concerns. The research will provide existing and future mobility providers in rural and small town areas a better understanding of what safety protocols they need to enact and how these actions should be presented to the public in order to promote the return of ridership as quickly as possible.