ABSTRACT
In late 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic soundlessly slinked in and swept the world, exerting a tremendous impact on lifestyles. This study investigated changes in the infection rates of COVID-19 and the urban built environment in 45 areas in Manhattan, New York, and the relationship between the factors of the urban built environment and COVID-19. COVID-19 was used as the outcome variable, which represents the situation under normal conditions vs. non-pharmacological intervention (NPI), to analyze the macroscopic (macro) and microscopic (micro) factors of the urban built environment. Computer vision was introduced to quantify the material space of urban places from street-level panoramic images of the urban streetscape. The study then extracted the microscopic factors of the urban built environment. The micro factors were composed of two parts. The first was the urban level, which was composed of urban buildings, Panoramic View Green View Index, roads, the sky, and buildings (walls). The second was the streets' green structure, which consisted of macrophanerophyte, bush, and grass. The macro factors comprised population density, traffic, and points of interest. This study analyzed correlations from multiple levels using linear regression models. It also effectively explored the relationship between the urban built environment and COVID-19 transmission and the mechanism of its influence from multiple perspectives.
ABSTRACT
In late 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic soundlessly slinked in and swept the world, exerting a tremendous impact on lifestyles. This study investigated changes in the infection rates of COVID-19 and the urban built environment in 45 areas in Manhattan, New York, and the relationship between the factors of the urban built environment and COVID-19. COVID-19 was used as the outcome variable, which represents the situation under normal conditions vs. non-pharmacological intervention (NPI), to analyze the macroscopic (macro) and microscopic (micro) factors of the urban built environment. Computer vision was introduced to quantify the material space of urban places from street-level panoramic images of the urban streetscape. The study then extracted the microscopic factors of the urban built environment. The micro factors were composed of two parts. The first was the urban level, which was composed of urban buildings, Panoramic View Green View Index, roads, the sky, and buildings (walls). The second was the streets' green structure, which consisted of macrophanerophyte, bush, and grass. The macro factors comprised population density, traffic, and points of interest. This study analyzed correlations from multiple levels using linear regression models. It also effectively explored the relationship between the urban built environment and COVID-19 transmission and the mechanism of its influence from multiple perspectives.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Cities , COVID-19/epidemiology , Environment Design , Built Environment , Linear ModelsABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 has been spread to 26 countries around the world since its outbreak. By February 16, 2020, more than 68 000 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Researchers from all over the world have carried out timely studies on this public health emergency and produced a number of scientific publications. This review aims to re-analyze and summarize the current research findings in a timely manner to guide scholars in relevant fields to further SARS-CoV-2 research and assist healthcare professionals in their work and decision-making. The SARS-CoV-2 related terms were selected in both English and Chinese and were searched in several major databases, including Pubmed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases. The reference list of each search result was screened for relevance, which was further supplemented to the search results. The included studies were categorized by topics with key characteristics extracted, re-analyzed, and summarized. A total of 301 articles were finally included with 136 in Chinese and 165 in English. The number of publications has rapidly increased since mid-January, 2020, and a peak day was 6th February on which 50 articles were published. The top three countries publishing articles were China, the United States and the United Kingdom. The Lancet and its specialty journals have published the most articles, with contribution also from journals such as New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM), The Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA), and Nature. All articles were categorized into epidemiology, clinical diagnosis and treatment, basic research, pregnant women and children, mental health, epidemic prevention & control, and others. The literatures related to SARS-CoV-2 are emerging rapidly. It is necessary to sort out and summarize the research topic in time, which has a good reference value for staff in different positions. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the judgment of the quality of literatures.