Scaling law of COVID-19 cases and city size and its evolution over time

Urban scaling law quantifies the disproportional growth of urban indicators with urban population size, which is one of the simple rules behind the complex urban system. Infectious diseases are closely related to social interactions that intensify in large cities, resulting in a faster speed of transmission in large cities. However, how this scaling relationship varies in an evolving pandemic is rarely investigated and remains unclear. Here, taking the COVID- 19 epidemic in the United States as an example, we collected daily added cases and deaths from January 2020 to June 2022 in more than three thousand counties to explore the scaling law of COVID- 19 cases and city size and its evolution over time. Results show that COVID- 19 cases super- linearly scaled with population size, which means cases increased faster than population size from a small city to a large city, resulting in a higher morbidity rate of COVID- 19 in large cities. Temporally, the scaling exponent that reflects the scaling relationship stabilized at around 1.25 after a fast increase from less than one. The scaling exponent gradually decreased until it was close to one. In comparison, deaths caused by the epidemic did not show a super-linear scaling relationship with population size, which revealed that the fatality rate of COVID-19 in large cities was not higher than that in small or medium-sized cities. The scaling exponent of COVID- 19 deaths shared a similar trend with that of COVID- 19 cases but with a lag in time. We further estimated scaling exponents in each wave of the epidemic, respectively, which experienced the common evolution process of first rising, then stabilizing, and then decreasing. We also analyzed the evolution of scaling exponents over time from regional and provincial perspectives. The northeast, where New York State is located, had the highest scaling exponent, and the scaling exponent of COVID- 19 deaths was higher than that of COVID-19 cases, which indicates that large cities in this region were more prominently affected by the epidemic. This study reveals the size effect of infectious diseases based on the urban scaling law, and the evolution process of scaling exponents over time also promotes the understanding of the urban scaling law. The mechanism behind temporal variations of scaling exponents is worthy of further exploration. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.

Breeding Hope during the Crisis: A Study on Unemployed Laborers' Willingness to Receive Educational Compensation under the Chinese "Zero-COVID” Policy

Under the Chinese "Zero-COVID” policy, many laborers were forced out of work. Participating in educational compensation can effectively help unemployed laborers achieve re-employment. This paper selected Jining, Shandong Province, as the research area, analyzed the data using a questionnaire survey and key interviews, and observed factors that affect and change willingness to receive educational compensation (WTEC) and the willingness to accept the training duration (WTTD) of unemployed laborers. The study found that 77.78% of unemployed laborers are willing to receive educational compensation, and the WTTD is 12.05 days. Among them, eight factors affect WTEC, such as the years of education, the duration of unemployment, whether there are dependents in the family, and the family's size. Nine factors such as gender, age, education, unemployed duration, dependents, and other supportable incomes affect WTTD. Based on this, by taking measures from the government and laborers, WTEC and WTTD can be improved, and then the rate of re-employment can be enhanced, and finally, the employment problem can be ameliorated.

Covid-19 lockdown effect on aerosol optical depth in Delhi National Capital Region, India

Coronavirus cases in India have been steadily increasing since March 2020. COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been managed by a variety of preventative measures. A prominent measure by the Government of India to prevent the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) began on March 25, 2020, with a complete suspension of all outdoor activities throughout the country. Such complete lockdown has resulted in a decrease in anthropogenic emissions, which is partly due to restrictions on human activities. Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), a landlocked area, suffers from high amounts of aerosols due to both natural and anthropogenic sources. The present research focuses on changes in Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) prior to and during lockdown (initial and second lockdown phases) around satellite cities (Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Gurugram) of Delhi using high-resolution MODIS AOD product. With the implementation of lockdown measures in phase I and phase III of the current study region, AOD decreased dramatically, while phase II and phase IV lockdown phases had a higher concentration of aerosol. An unexpected increase in AOD occurred during the second lockdown compared with the initial lockdown and before the lockdown. Overall, the average percentage change from 2019 to 2020 during first lockdown is -4.44%, while the average percentage change from 2020 to 2021 is 27.63%. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Forum geografic.

Pandemics and the built environment: A human– building interaction typology

Surveys of urban history from ancient times to the present reveal a continuum of collective responses to pandemics ranging from quarantine facilities and monitoring the spread of disease to building new wastewater networks. The contemporary COVID-19 pandemic includes new digital tools and techniques that supplement (and sometimes replace) the existing analogue responses, while raising new ethical issues with respect to privacy. A typology of pandemic responses in cities is created, based on human–building interaction (HBI) principles. This typology can be used to compare and contrast analogue and digital responses relating to distancing, monitoring and sanitising. It provides a summary of a wide range of individual and collective implications of pandemics and demonstrates the indelible connections between pandemics and the built environment. In addition, the typology provides a tool to interpret some of the opportunities and drawbacks of digitalising cities. PRACTICE RELEVANCE The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the enduring co-evolution of cities and disease through history. This study aims to inform future pandemic preparedness by providing a framework for designers, managers and users of public spaces to evaluate the multiple implications of emerging technologies that are integrated within the urban fabric. While the rapid rise of digitalisation to advance urban health agendas continues to raise new questions relating to individual and civic freedoms, HBI qualitatively provides a lens through which to examine the overlapping spatial, ethical, and temporal consequences for humans and the built environment. Urban planning researchers and designers can use HBI principles to humanise the sustainable smart city. © 2023 The Author(s).

Managing Safety and Security in the Smart City: Covid-19, Emergencies and Smart Surveillance

The chapter examines the role and potential inherent in surveillance systems in smart cities today. The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant restrictions to mobility, on the one hand, and the need for strengthened enforcement measures highlighted the already existing weaknesses and contingencies besetting surveillance in smart cities. The chapter makes a case that the adoption of smart city surveillance and infrastructure management systems may contribute to the improvement of safety and security in the smart city as well as to an overall enhancement of the smart city's resilience. The discussion in this chapter focuses on the complex processes of data acquisition, data sharing, and data utilization to explain in which ways they all add to smart surveillance systems that-while aware of individual freedoms and privacy issues-contribute to the process of making a smart city resilient. To showcase the applicability of these findings, a wireless mesh network (WMN) surveillance system is presented. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

An Empirical Analysis of Efficiency in Accommodation Industry in Australian Tourism Regions

A body of empirical literature exists which sets out how the accommodation industry performs across a range of locations. However, research on tourism regions in terms of its accommodation industry remains underdeveloped, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic when tourism faced unprecedented adversity and need to find a way to move forward. In an attempt to address this and take the Australian accommodation industry as a case study, this paper sought to investigate the efficiency of Australian tourism regions in the accommodation industry for the period of 2014/15–2017/18. The findings clearly showed that Australian tourism regions had seen significant growth in terms of their efficiency in the accommodation industry over the surveyed period. The Australian commercial large cities, namely Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Goal Coast, represent perhaps the best example, having obtained a higher efficiency than all other tourism regions. Exogenous factors, such as the occupancy rate, the average daily rate, the number of international visitors and the number of domestic visitors overnight were identified as influencing the technical efficiency score of tourism regions, with policy formulation and implementation identified as being key to improving the efficiency of the accommodation industry at the regional level for a post-Covid-19 period. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Stakeholders' attitudes towards tools for sustainable tourism in historical cities

Urban space is often the cause of disputes. The underlying causes of these disputes are conflicting interests, attitudes and needs regarding the way it is used. Among the various functions performed by cities, tourism activities have been distinguished as the foremost in the cities of historical value. Mass tourism has developed in the last decade and its excessive flow of tourists has in turn led to overtourism which as described in literature is a negative phenomenon. The causes of conflicts related to the development of tourism and their scale are very diverse. The freezing of the tourism economy during the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to balance its development in the future. As described in the article, this research aims at identifying the attitudes and expectations of Krakow's residence towards the tools of balancing the tourism economy in the post pandemic period. The statistical analysis of the acquired data collected through questionnaires from 386 respondents during July 2020 revealed that most of the respondents support the preservation of cultural heritage and landscapes over business and profit making.

Élmények a zöldfelületeken: A megélt tér különbségei Stockholmban

A zöldfelületek használati értékének felértékelodése a lakosok szabadidejének növekedésével, a szabadido eltöltésének igényével, valamint a környezettudatosság erosödésével is összefügg, amit az elmúlt években a koronavírus-járvány okozta bezártság is tovább erosített. A különbözo embercsoportok által használt funkciók (szociotópok), a zöldfelületek esztétikája, hangulata egyaránt befolyásolják az adott területen szerzett élményeket, amelyek a térrol alkotott képünket, véleményünket is meghatározhatják. Jelen kutatás a stockholmi zöldfelületek példáján keresztül mutatja be a pozitív vagy negatív élményekért felelos tényezoket, illetve azt, hogy vane e összefüggés ezek és a városi zöldfelületek kategóriái között. Stockholm 2010-ben elsoként nyerte el az Európa Zöld Fovárosa díjat, ezáltal is jelezve, hogy a város élen jár a környezettudatos gondolkodásban, és példaként szolgál más európai, vagy akár az Európa Zöld Fovárosa díjra szintén pályázott, ám a kiválasztott döntosök szuk körébe sem bekerülo magyar városok (Budapest, Pécs) számára. Stockholm úgy is jellemezheto, mint „részben víz, részben zöldövezet, részben pedig város, ahogy azt az Európai Bizottság (2010: 21. o.). által kiadott hivatalos dokumentum is tartalmazza Stockholm az európai városok között is kimagasló zöldterület-elérhetoségi mutatóval (Buckland_Pojani 2022), Zöld Város Indexszel és környezeti politikával (Akande et al. 2019) rendelkezik, valamint a lakosság elégedettsége a városban éléssel is az élmezonybe tartozik (Okulicz-Kozaryn 2013), így jó gyakorlatként (best practice) szolgálhat más városok számára is. A vizsgálatban a stockholmi zöldfelületek kategorizálása Ibes (2015) tanulmánya alapján készült, miszerint hat kategória különítheto el tíz változó segítségével. A szociotóp funkciók gyakoriságában megfigyelheto a zöldfelületek eltéro „részesedése", illetve a különbözo zöldfelületi kategóriák idobeli (napszak, évszak, tartózkodási ido), gyakorisági (terület látogatottsága) és gazdasági (területen igénybe vett szolgáltatások ára) különbségei egyaránt kirajzolódnak.Alternate :Nowadays, the leisure time of the inhabitants is increasing, meaning that urban green spaces are becoming more and more valuable, as people visit these places more often and for longer periods to spend their spare time there. In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, these open spaces are playing an even more important role in social interaction. The features used by different groups of the society (sociotopes), the aesthetics and the atmosphere of green spaces all have an impact on the experiences gained in the area, all these may determine our perception and opinion of the given space. The present research aims to show, through the example of Stockholm's green spaces, the factors responsible for good or negative experiences and whether there is any correlation between these and the urban green space types. Stockholm was the first city to win the European Green Capital Award in 2010, showing its leadership in environmental thinking and being a role model for other European, including Hungarian (Budapest, Pécs) cities that have also applied for the European Green Capital Award but were not shortlisted as finalists. Stockholm can also be described as 'part water, part green belt, part city', as stated in an official document published by the European Commission (2010, p. 21). Stockholm ranks highly among European cities in terms of green space accessibility (Buckland-Pojani 2022), Green City Index score and environmental policy (Akande et al. 2019), as well as in terms of public satisfaction with the quality of life in the city (Okulicz-Kozaryn 2013), therefore may serve as a best practice model for other cities. A categorisation of Stockholm's green spaces has been carried out in this study, using Ibes' (2015) paper as a basis. According to this, six categories can be distinguished by using ten variables. The green space categories identified in the analysis show differences in the number of sociotope functions and differences in the temporal (time of day, season, length of stay), frequency (visits to the area) and economic (cost of services in the area) aspects of these categories.

Using the SIR Model to Analyze the Epidemiological Situation in Kazakhstan and Neighboring Countries

In this paper, we study the epidemic situation in Kazakhstan and neighboring countries, taking into account territorial features in emergency situations. As you know, the excessive concentration of the population in large cities and the transition to a world without borders created ideal conditions for a global pandemic. The article also provides the results of a detailed analysis of the solution approaches to modeling the development of epidemics by types of models (basic SIR model, modified SEIR models) and the practical application of the SIR model using an example (Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other neighboring countries). The obtained processing results are based on statistical data from open sources on the development of the COVID-19 epidemic. The result obtained is a general solution of the SIR-model of the spread of the epidemic according to the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The parameters β, γ, which are indicators of infection, recovery, respectively, were calculated using data at the initial phase of the Covid 2019 epidemic. An analysis of anti-epidemic measures in neighboring countries is given. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Urban mobility evolution and the 15-minute city model: from holistic to bottom-up approach

In recent years, urban planners have mentioned the importance of implementing alternative city models that encourage short trips and neighborhood-scale activities such as the 15-minute city model. Several studies show that improvements in the transportation networks encourage the citizens to move themselves into their neighborhoods' borders. People seem to respond to these actions by increasing their visits to many local places such as restaurants, bars, sports centres etc. Even though during the post-covid era, people decreased significantly their movements, it is vital to encourage the creation of friendly for walking transportation networks inside the neighborhoods of the cities, based on the concept of the 15-minute city model. Large cities are becoming bigger and bigger as they offer many job opportunities. However, the massive peoples' relocation in big cities has as a result the creation of huge transportation problems. Neighborhoods have been downgraded as they were not ready to offer several services in larger populations. The 15-minute city model is designed to ensure that each citizen has quick access (15 minutes on foot) to essential services of various types. Moreover, the implementation of the 15-minute city model demands the strengthening of transportation networks promoting sustainable solutions that can support the daily walking of the habitants. This paper focuses on a literature review of the implementation of the 15-minute city model in different big cities worldwide, starting from Paris where the model is indeed a well-suited concept and focuses to the need of a cultural change rather than urban planning. The research points out not only the fact that this model can help the neighborhoods to grow up socioeconomically but the fact that the citizens can cooperate with the local authorities and participate in the redesign of their neighborhood based on the 15-minute city model. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

Environmental Sustainability and Territorial Competitiveness: A Comparison between Italian Provinces

The emergence of globalisation and the removal of obstacles between markets have heightened rivalry between territorial areas. To have a competitive advantage, the regions have to be unique. As one of the tactics used to boost their reputation on a territorial level, territories are progressively adopting environmental policies for sustainable and shared prosperity. Indeed, effective management of urban growth depends heavily on sustainable development. In this regard, the literature occasionally refers to the "green branding” of cities, a strategy that makes use of environmental aspects to boost the allure of metropolitan environments. There is currently little consensus in the literature on the measuring of environmental performance, and no statistical study has been done to confirm the efficacy of these measures in terms of territorial competitiveness. Therefore, it is important to determine whether there is a relationship between a territory's level of sustainability and competitiveness in Italy. According to the statistical analysis of the Italian provinces, the Northeast, Northwest, Centre, and Islands are the four geographical regions with the highest average scores. This unquestionably indicates a basic comprehension and supports the notion that there is a relationship between the two variables. However, it also serves as a warning about how geographical disparities in Italy represent a major issue affecting the most diverse sectors. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic problem has drastically altered consumer demands and goals, leading consumers to seek out more sustainable travel and cities that are designed with citizens' requirements in mind. It will therefore become more and more important to research how public and private administrators, as well as policy makers, react to these changes.

Proximity tourism: an observational analysis of the use of Instagram to promote the northeast of Brazil. (Special Issue: Tourism in the northeast.)

With the changes in consumer profile, especially in tourism activity, facing the issues brought by globalization, greater access to and use of Technologies, and more recently, the restrictions imposed by the protocols to prevent contamination by the Covid-19 virus and its consequences, it has been necessary to change the way of experiencing tourism, leading the market to adapt to the new reality. Thus, the incentive to implement so-called Proximity Tourism has gathered strength, prompting the following research question: how has this type of tourism been addressed and how have the cities of the Brazilian Northeast have been working with this theme to promote their potential on the social network platform Instagram? The main objective of this study was to perform an observational analysis of what is being posted on this social network concerning proximity tourism, by investigating the use of the hashtag #turismodeproximity, and whether the cities of the Northeast of Brazil are using this Instagram tool. As the result of this research, it was found that of the total posts indexed with this hashtag, only a small number are directly related to this region, indicating a lack of dissemination, and consequently, failure to generate greater visibility for this tourism modality.

Tracking the Transit Divide: A Multilevel Modelling Approach of Urban Inequalities and Train Ridership Disparities in Chicago

Using a multilevel modelling approach, this study investigates the impact of urban inequalities on changes to rail ridership across Chicago's "L” stations during the pandemic, the mass vaccination rollout, and the full reopening of the city. Initially believed to have an equal impact, COVID-19 disproportionally impacted the ability of lower socioeconomic status (SES) neighbourhoods' to adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions: working-from-home and social distancing. We find that "L” stations in predominately Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino neighbourhoods with high industrial land-use recorded the smallest behavioural change. The maintenance of higher public transport use at these stations is likely to have exacerbated existing health inequalities, worsening disparities in users' risk of exposure, infection rates, and mortality rates. This study also finds that the vaccination rollout and city reopening did not significantly increase the number of users at stations in higher vaccinated, higher private vehicle ownership neighbourhoods, even after a year into the pandemic. A better understanding of the spatial and socioeconomic determinants of changes in ridership behaviour is crucial for policymakers in adjusting service routes and frequencies that will sustain reliant neighbourhoods' access to essential services, and to encourage trips at stations which are the most impacted to revert the trend of declining public transport use.

Critical Commentary: The city and the virus

Cities around the world are the epicentres of the coronavirus pandemic: both in the first wave, as the disease spread from East Asia, and now, as many countries enter a third wave of infections. These spatial patterns are still far from properly understood, though there is no shortage of possible explanations. I set out the emerging theories about cities' role in the spread of coronavirus, testing these against existing studies and new analysis for English conurbations, cities and towns. Both reveal an urbanised public health crisis, in which vulnerabilities and health impacts track (a) urban structural inequalities, and (b) wider weaknesses in institutions, their capabilities and leaders. I then turn to 'post-pandemic' visions of future cities. I argue that this framing is unhelpful: even with mass vaccination, COVID-19 is likely to remain one of many globalised endemic diseases. Instead, 'pandemic-resilient' urban places will require improved economic, social and physical infrastructure, alongside better public policy. Describing such future cities is still highly speculative: I identify five zones of change. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] 世界各地的城市都是冠状病毒大流行的中心：无论是在第一波疫情从东亚开始传播时，还是现在许多国家进入第三波感染。尽管不乏可能的解释，但这些空间模式仍远未得到正确理解。我阐述了关于城市在冠状病毒传播中的作用的一些新理论，并根据现有研究和针对英国大都市和城镇的新分析对这些理论进行了检验。两者都揭示了城市化的公共卫生危机，其中脆弱性和健康影响与以下因素相伴随：(a) 城市结构性不平等；以及 (b) 机构、其能力和领导者的更广泛弱点。接着，我转向未来城市的后疫情时代愿景。我认为这种框架是无益的：即使进行了大规模疫苗接种，新冠肺炎仍然可能会是许多全球化的地方病之一。相反，具有"抗流行病能力"的城市场所将需要经过改良的经济、社会和物质基础设施，以及更好的公共政策。对这样的未来城市的描述仍然具有高度的推测性：我确定了五个变革区域。 (Chinese) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

How the Japanese workcation embraces digital nomadic work style employees. (Special Issue: Leisure, knowledge work and the digital nomadism.)

In Japan, workcations have gained attention as a way to offset the economic damage caused to inbound tourism by the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering its aims to contribute to the local community and increase interactions with local residents, the Japanese-style workcation can be positioned as a form of digital nomadism that seeks alternatives to existing work styles. This study is based on fieldwork in Tottori Prefecture in Japan and includes interviews and participant observation. It aims to examine (1) national and local government workcation policies, (2) the development of new services and businesses that facilitate workcation, and (3) the process of introducing hybrid work in companies. Japanese-style workcation as a social design can offer solutions to problems such as the concentration of population in cities, ageing population, and declining tourism industry. The work styles and lifestyles suggested by the Japanese-style workcation should continue to be explored as an area where new tourism, social design, and community design overlap. At the same time, incorporating digital nomadism as individualism into the workcation remains a future issue.

Can We Detect Urban‐Scale CO2 Emission Changes Within Medium‐Sized Cities?

The COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in a widespread lockdown during the spring of 2020. Measurements collected on a light rail system in the Salt Lake Valley (SLV), combined with observations from the Utah Urban Carbon Dioxide Network observed a notable decrease in urban CO2 concentrations during the spring of 2020 relative to previous years. These decreases coincided with a ∼30% reduction in average traffic volume. CO2 measurements across the SLV were used within a Bayesian inverse model to spatially allocate anthropogenic emission reductions for the first COVID‐19 lockdown. The inverse model was first used to constrain anthropogenic emissions for the previous year (2019) to provide the best possible estimate of emissions for 2020, before accounting for emission reductions observed during the COVID‐19 lockdown. The posterior emissions for 2019 were then used as the prior emission estimate for the 2020 COVID‐19 lockdown analysis. Results from the inverse analysis suggest that the SLV observed a 20% decrease in afternoon CO2 emissions from March to April 2020 (−90.5 tC hr−1). The largest reductions in CO2 emissions were centered over the northern part of the valley (downtown Salt Lake City), near major roadways, and potentially at industrial point sources. These results demonstrate that CO2 monitoring networks can track reductions in CO2 emissions even in medium‐sized cities like Salt Lake City.Alternate :Plain Language SummaryHigh‐density measurements of CO2 were combined with a statistical model to estimate emission reductions across Salt Lake City during the COVID‐19 lockdown. Reduced traffic throughout the COVID‐19 lockdown was likely the primary driver behind lower CO2 emissions in Salt Lake City. There was also evidence that industrial‐based emission sources may of had an observable decrease in CO2 emissions during the lockdown. Finally, this analysis suggests that high‐density CO2 monitoring networks could be used to track progress toward decarbonization in the future.

Social and Spatial Governance: The History of Enclosed Neighborhoods in Urban China

COVID-19 calls for a new understanding of urban landscape and associated living. As an emerging topic, lockdown urbanism involves an unpredictable future where lockdown or quarantine may be a come and go new normal for everyday practice, but the topic itself seems to have escaped historical inquiry. This paper attempts to answer why the strict lockdown is suitable for China by revealing a long and complex history of urbanization and its social and administrative organization. The urban fabric is characterized by a system of urban patterns: enclosed communities, the spatial layout and service distribution of the neighborhood, and the formation of the center. It was also animated by daily ritualistic practices, such as the control of time, quotidian lockdown practice (yejin), and individual ties within the enclosed neighborhood. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the deep history of urban form and the order and logic behind lockdown urbanism. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Urban History is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Pandemi Döneminde Sürdürülebilir ve Dirençli Kentler: Çankırı Örneği 1

Ocak-2020 tarihinde hayatımıza giren Covid-19 virüsünün neden olduǧu salgın hastalık, küreselleşmenin etkisiyle kısa sürede tüm dünyaya yayılmış ve kentlerde ciddi sorunlara yol açmış olması salgın hastalıklara dirençli bir kent oluşturma gerekliliǧini ortaya koymuştur. Mega kentlerde, kent içi akışın hızlı olması salgının kontrolünü zorlaştırmış olsa da, mikro kentlerde salgın süreci daha sistemli ve rahat atlatılmıştır. Araştırmanın çıkış noktasını oluşturan bu durum, mikro bir kent olan Çankırı'da Covid-19 salgın sürecinin nasıl geçirildiǧini ve geçirilmekte olduǧunu anlamaya neden olmuştur. Bu doǧrultuda "derinlemesine mülakat" yöntemi ile Çankırı içerisinden seçilmiş kamu kuramlarında görev yapan 5 yetkili kişiyle yüz yüze görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Yapılan mülakatlar sonucunda Çankırı'da salgın sürecinin sistemli ve bir nebze de olsa daha rahat geçirildiǧi anlaşılmıştır. Bu çerçevede mikro bir kent olan Çankırı'da salgın gibi risk durumlarında kurumlar arası iletişim kolay bir şekilde saǧlanarak hızlı müdahale şansı olmuştur. Sonuç olarak bu durum vaka ve ölüm oranlarında hızlı bir düşüşe neden olmuştur.Alternate :The epidemic disease caused by the Covid-19 virus, which entered our lives in January-2020, spread all over the world in a short time with the effect of globalization and caused serious problems in cities, revealing the necessity of creating a city resistant to epidemics. Although the rapid flow in the city made it difficult to control the epidemic in mega cities, the epidemic process in micro cities was overcome more systematically and comfortably. This situation, which constitutes the starting point of the research, caused to understand how the Covid-19 epidemic process was and is being passed in Çankırı, a micro city. In this direction, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 5 authorized persons working in selected public institutions in Çankırı using the "in-depth interview" method. As a result of the interviews, it was understood that the epidemic process in Çankırı was systematically and somewhat more comfortable. In this framework, in Çankırı, which's a micro city, in risk situations such as epidemics, inter-institutional communication has been easily provided and there has been a chance for rapid intervention. As a result, this has led to a rapid decline in case and death rates.

From the Editors

Since 2022, the journal Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya is publishing special issues on important topics in geography. The comprehensive special section offered to readers' attention is another innovation of the journal. This collection has been prepared for the centennial of the International Geographical Union and its congress in Paris (July 2022). It includes seven review articles. Their English translations are simultaneously published in the journal Regional Research of Russia, no. 1 for 2022. These circumstances determine articles' genre and fundamental features. The topics of the articles were chosen so that the special section reflects areas in which the most striking results have been achieved and which are specific to Russia. The authors are leading Russian experts in their respective fields. They have tried, as far as possible, to compare the topics, methodological approaches, and research results with the world mainstream. The main focus is on the last decade, 2010–2021;when necessary, the authors also have referred to earlier publications. The authors of most of the articles pay attention to the peculiarities of spatial development that arose in 2020–2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya. All rights reserved.

Citizen empowerment through smart surveillance: evidence from Indian smart cities

PurposeCitizens often perceive surveillance by government authorities as oppressive and, hence, demonstrate reluctance in value co-creation from such services. This study aims to investigate the challenges and benefits of citizen empowerment through technology-driven surveillance or "smart surveillance.”Design/methodology/approachGuided by Dynamic Capability theory, the authors conduct in-depth interviews with officers in-charge of surveillance in smart cities. Given the contemporary advancements, this approach allows a retrospective and real-time understanding of interviewees' experiences with smart surveillance.FindingsThe authors develop five propositions for citizen empowerment through smart surveillance to summarize the findings of this study.Research limitations/implicationsThis study advances the relevance of Dynamic Capability in public administration.Practical implicationsSmart city authorities and policymakers may leverage the insights provided in this study to design appropriate policies for smart surveillance.Originality/valueThe authors find that factors such as digital technology and infrastructure, information management, skill divide and perceived return on investment may influence citizen empowerment through smart surveillance.