ABSTRACT
Cities shelter more than two thirds of the world's population, and health security in such environments became a challenge. The outbreak of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic revealed the urgency of assessing urban resilience towards major health crises. Major cities are acknowledged for decreasing the health status of their residents through complex drivers, and researchers from various domains have been addressing these issues for the past three decades. The aim of our study focused on highlighting the main methods and indicators used by scholars to assess the impact of urban landscapes on health, and to cluster urban landscapes based on their conclusions. We scoped the scientific literature published in the past 10 years, addressing the issue of health in relation with urban landscapes. We used statistical approaches, API algorithms, and social network analysis for generating and exposing our results. Most studies focused on perception analyses (mainly self-perceived health), literature reviews or environmental quality impacts on health. Green and blue features were considered therapeutic landscapes, while dense built-up spaces were described as harmful. Urban landscapes are acknowledged as enablers or disablers of health, thus planning strategies and regulations should consider the impacts generated by the design and structure of new urban fabrics. © 2023, Editura Universitatii din Bucuresti. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis on the society and environment in Romania. It is based on the results of a survey conducted in May 2020 to emphasise the perception and reactions of the higher educated population to unprecedented measures taken by public and health authorities during the lockdown. The analysis of the population perception addressed four significant aspects: The awareness of the risks of infection;the adaptation to pandemic issues;behavioural changes due to the disease outbreak;and the prioritisation of social and environmental measures, aimed at minimising the spread of the virus and diffusion of COVID-19 disease it causes. A reliable cross-sectional online questionnaire was performed on a final sample of 719 Romanian adults aged 18-75 years. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied, using SPSS analysis and procedure, and respectively Application Programming Interface (API). Findings pointed out that in Romania, the higher educated population considered the risk of infection as being moderate. Although, they initially questioned the restrictions, they subsequently followed social distancing measures, initiated resilience actions by adopting new sanitary habits, healthy behaviours and reconsidering the importance of an inclusive living environment. In their views, the management of the crisis at the national and local level is satisfactory, thus outlining the directions for actions and placing health and the environment along with social issues as top priorities and needs for the Romanian communities. © 2021 Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania. All rights reserved.