ABSTRACT
The permanence of informal settlements in Latin America reflects insufficient public policies and markets incapable of providing housing for poor groups in society. However, it is also a manifestation of the pulse of residents to manage housing alternatives. This article describes the first impacts of the COVID-19 health emergency on housing, based on the example of the consolidation of the Campamento Altos de Placilla Nuevo. The research focused on the resident's elections, building processes, and inhabit experiences through a mixed and participatory methodology. It is concluded that, although the pandemic was an accelerating factor that exposed the vulnerability of low-income families, living in the camp made it possible to improve their living conditions, both in a context of abandonment and uncertainty. © 2022 Universidad Nacional de Colombia. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The prolongation of the Pandemic COVID-19 has undermined the healthcare system and negatively impacted the economy and social development on a global and regional scale. At the human settlement level, responding to the pandemic situation has altered the broad spectrum of our daily routine down to the family and individual levels. Prior to the lockdown popularly known as the Movement Control Order (MCO), which the government introduced, the public was urged to limit outdoor movements and stay at home hence, encouraging the adoption of Work From Home (WFH) for employees and Home-based Teaching and Learning (PdPR) for the academic community and school students. Other than technological readiness for online working and teaching, the new normal also prompted new challenges for households in utilizing indoor spaces at home, especially for quarantine as well as for WFH and PdPR activities. In this light, a series of household surveys using questionnaires to determine the preference and usage of indoor space among households have been conducted in 39 locations/settlements across peninsular Malaysia. A total of 504 respondents participated and fieldwork and interview processes. Findings of the study indicated a majority of respondents have to designate indoor spaces/rooms for home quarantine (58%), and the three indoor spaces, in particular, have been monitored regularly by respondents during the pandemic, namely living areas (39%), kitchen (25%) and bedroom (21%). During MCO, most of them spent 1 to 4 hours per day for PdPR (43%), and 47% of respondents have a designated learning space at home for PdPR. In summary, pandemic COVID-19 has raised awareness among households regarding the selection and usage of indoor space to conduct various activities while they have to stay at home.
ABSTRACT
Speed read Wuhan investigation points to wildlife as likely source of COVID-19 Climate change and illegal trade are increasing risk of zoonotic disease transmission Wildlife protection, surveillance of zoonosis are key to early detection of ‘spillover events’ Understanding animal disease is essential if we want to prevent future pandemics, writes Keith Hamilton. [...]deforestation and climate change result in natural habitat loss and push animals, in their search for food or a new home, into human settlements. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the standard-setting organisation for animal health and welfare, champions this approach and is developing guidelines and standards for wildlife trade which support animal welfare and biodiversity conservation.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably changed people's lifestyles and demands for urban green space and public open space. The National Landscape Garden Cities in China (NLGCC) policy is one of the key development models in China aimed at building sustainable cities and society. In this paper, the development of the study's selection criteria and the significance and benefits of the NLGCC policy are first summarised. 391 cities were chosen from the NLGCC list to analyse the spatial distribution and construction of driving factors. The results show that the NLGCC's selection criteria have shifted from a focus on quantity to overall habitat quality. During the COVID-19 pandemic, city resilience has been examined more closely. The NLGCC policies have boosted to address ecological and environmental crises and enhanced urban disaster preparedness. The spatial distribution analysis shows that the NLGCC is spatially unevenly distributed and has a clustering trend. A total of 54.96% of the NLGCC is concentrated in China's eastern and central regions. The natural environment and socioeconomics are two main categories of driving factors. This study provides significant value to the understanding of the spatial pattern of the NLGCC offers a reference for decision-making about the construction of urban environments worldwide.
ABSTRACT
The permanence of informal settlements in Latin America reflects insufficient public policies and markets incapable of providing housing for poor groups in society. However, it is also a manifestation of the pulse of residents to manage housing alternatives. This article describes the first impacts of the COVID-19 health emergency on housing, based on the example of the consolidation of the Campamento Altos de Placilla Nuevo. The research focused on the resident's elections, building processes, and inhabit experiences through a mixed and participatory methodology. It is concluded that, although the pandemic was an accelerating factor that exposed the vulnerability of low-income families, living in the camp made it possible to improve their living conditions, both in a context of abandonment and uncertainty.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 lockdown in 2020–2021 and the refugee crisis in 2021–2022 were two new and unexpected social and political events in Poland in recent years. These “wildcards” will certainly have major effects on individuals and cities, both directly and indirectly, through the influence of “externalities.” The paper examines trends in the spatial development of Polish cities during the last five years (2016–2021), focusing on residential suburbanization and urban sprawl. The study aims to reveal the elements that determine the spatial scale of suburbanization, as well as “wildcards” that may have an indirect impact on the process but are difficult to quantify and include in spatial analysis. The use of location quotient (LQ) metrics, as well as a subset of the Global Human Settlement Layer in the spatial analysis allow for comparisons of locations with intensified urbanization throughout different periods, serving a task that is comparable to feature standardization from a time and space viewpoint. The analysis provides evidence of growing suburbanization surrounding major Polish cities from 2016 to 2021, while also exposing distinct elements of spatial development during a period that was marked by social and political stress (2021).
ABSTRACT
In this study, geothermal-based three different systems are examined comparatively and a decision-making method is used to find the best option to use in refugee settlements. Earth air heat exchanger (EAHE), vertical ground source heat pump (VGSHP), and horizontal ground source heat pump (HGSHP) are evaluated from the viewpoint of environmental impact, performance, economy, and health. This study is the first study related to the evaluation of EAHE and GSHP systems by using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). It is concluded that EAHE is the best option for refugee settlements;also EAHE is a healthier option for the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Location, place, distance, movement and environment are of course some of the building blocks of the discipline of geography, while the mapping of the disease (COVID-19) draws on a long tradition of cartography. There is no definitive answer, but the current informed view is that it has origins in the trade in wild animals in city markets in Wuhan, China, where the virus is thought to have transferred from bats to pangolins, both natural hosts of coronaviruses, and then to human populations, causing the disease known as COVID-19. A Commission on Creating a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future (National Academy of Medicine, 2016) suggested four years ago that about £3 billion a year should be invested to prepare for future pandemics. If countries in the global north (notably, the UK and USA) have struggled for bed capacity, personal protective equipment, and ventilators, what hope is there for countries in sub-Saharan Africa and war-ravaged parts of the world, not to mention overcrowded refugee camps?
ABSTRACT
[...]on June 8th, 2020, more than 65,000 travel restrictions were issued for 220 countries around the world. According to statistics, as of April 4th, 2020, thirty-four countries with substantial resettlement of refugees have reported local transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Under these conditions, the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) for protection against COVID-19 such as washing hands with soap and water, avoiding crowded spaces, wearing masks in public and social isolation when people show symptoms of illness6 are impossible to comply with inside refugee camps that are overcrowded, becoming real "outbreaks of infection". According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, migrants make up 24% of all doctors and 16% of auxiliary staff, such as care workers.