ABSTRACT
This study was conducted with the aim of empirically analyzing the impacts of the pandemic of the Covid-19 on the Quebec tourism industry, with a particular focus on the outdoor sector, given that the latter seems to have been a form of escape in several countries and for many citizens. Based on a quantitative approach and a self-administered survey in the summer of 2020 (n = 1210), this study made it possible to analyze the organizational situation of this industry, the tourism performance of the organizations surveyed, their human resources concerns, their short- and medium-term development prospects, as well as the structural and organizational elements where the organizations are the most vulnerable. Overall, it can be seen that the outdoor sector, thanks to its 40 intrinsic characteristics, stands out very positively in this industry, in particular in contrast to organizations located in large urban centers that depend on clients from outside Quebec.
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The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from wildlife has raised concerns about spillover from humans to animals, the establishment of novel wildlife reservoirs, and the potential for future outbreaks caused by variants of wildlife origin. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are abundant in urban areas and live in close proximity to humans, providing the opportunity for spillover of SARS-CoV-2. Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and exposure has been reported in Norway rats. We investigated SARS-CoV-2 infection and exposure in Norway rats from Southern Ontario, Canada. From October 2019 to June 2021, 224 rats were submitted by collaborating pest control companies. The majority of samples were collected in Windsor (79.9%;n = 179), Hamilton (13.8%;n = 31), and the Greater Toronto Area (5.8%;n = 13). Overall, 50.0% (n = 112) were female and most rats were sexually mature (55.8%;n = 125). Notably, 202 samples were collected prior to the emergence of variants of concern (VOC) and 22 were collected while the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was the predominant circulating VOC in humans. Nasal turbinate (n = 164) and small intestinal (n = 213) tissue samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-PCR. Thoracic cavity fluid samples (n = 213) were tested for neutralizing antibodies using a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) (GenScript cPass);confirmatory plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) was conducted on presumptive positive samples. We did not detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in any samples tested. Two out of eleven samples positive on sVNT had neutralizing antibodies confirmed positive by PRNT (1 : 40 and 1 : 320 PRNT70);both were collected prior to the emergence of VOC. It is imperative that efforts to control and monitor SARS-CoV-2 include surveillance of rats and other relevant wildlife species as novel variants continue to emerge.
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The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant social and economic impacts throughout the world. In addition to the health consequences, the impacts on travel behavior have also been sudden and wide ranging. This study describes the drastic changes in human behavior using the analysis of highway volume data as a representation of personal activity and interaction. Same-day traffic volumes for 2019 and 2020 across Florida were analyzed to identify spatial and temporal changes in behavior resulting from the disease or fear of it and statewide directives to limit person-to-person interaction. Compared to similar days in 2019, overall statewide traffic volume dropped by 47.5%. Although decreases were evident across the state, there were also differences between rural and urban areas and between highways and arterials both in terms of the timing and extent. The data and analyses help to demonstrate the early impacts of the pandemic and may be useful for operational and strategic planning of recovery efforts and for dealing with future pandemics.
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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.
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Background: "Covishield" and "Covaxin" were the two vaccines which were approved for emergency use in India. As there is uncertainty regarding these vaccines, this study aimed to estimate the proportion of acceptance of vaccination against COVID-19 in West Bengal;to identify the possible barriers of vaccine acceptance prevalent among the study population and;to find out the association of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination with the socio-demographic and other predictor variables. Methods: Oobservational study with cross sectional design was conductedon 294 participants in Muchisa, Budge Budge II and Ward No. 81 of Borough 10, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) selected by Stratified Random Sampling in 2021 using a predesigned, pretested and structured schedule. The statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 16.0. The data were explored using Pearson's chi-square test and logistic regression. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The potential acceptance of Covid-19 vaccination was 59.5% with higher adoption in urban population. The most potential barrier in acceptance of vaccine was "fear of side effects". Higher level of education and history of Covid-19 in the locality were associated with higher acceptance of the vaccination in both the urban and rural areas. Conclusion: A study emphasized on the need for mass campaigns and other behavior change communication activities for addressing the myths surrounding the disease and the newer vaccines and hence improving the currently low vaccine acceptance.
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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.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of incorporating nature-based solutions in urban design, in order to create sustainable and resilient cities. Inspired by these events, the present study aims at exploring the mental health benefits of nature exposure during the outbreak. Secondarily, we investigate changes in use patterns towards urban green spaces (UGS) and urban blue spaces (UBS) and whether extreme conditions, such as these of a lockdown, can lead to an increase in people's appreciation of urban nature. Through an online survey, we observed that the pandemic resulted in a decrease in the frequency of visitation to UGS/UBS (p < 0.001). Significant differences were found for exercise (p < 0.001) and socialization (p < 0.05) as main drivers for visiting urban nature pre- and post-lockdown. Accordingly, visitation rates for forests (p < 0.05), playgrounds (p < 0.001), and the sea (p < 0.001) differed significantly when comparing the two periods. In people's perception, UGS/UBS are important for the urban fabric (89%). Our structural equation model indicated that nature exposure had a beneficial effect on participants' mental health (p < 0.001). Pathways that explain the relationship between nature exposure and post- lockdown value were nature relatedness, motivation, and perceived importance of UGS/UBS. No mediation could be extracted for nature exposure and mental health. Our findings show the positive association between nature exposure and mental health improvement, especially in times of crisis, as well as a shift in the "value domain” towards urban nature.
ABSTRACT
Covid-19 has a significant risk of spreading in urban areas because of the aglomeration of built-up areas and people. It frequently contains a mix of land uses and is accessible to urban amenities. Due to the area's extensive usage of mixed land uses, it is better able to provide internal urban services on its own. Greater use of area lockdown and social separation strategies could result from this situation. The most populous city in the province of Central Java, Surakarta, has a significant risk of contracting COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of density and levels of mixed land use on the Covid-19 distribution in Surakarta City.Population density is used to calculate density. The entropy index approach was used to measure the amount of mixed land use. It is a method for calculating the balance between each form of land use. The availability of current land use data being processed by the spatial analysis with the Arc GIS application provided help for the analysis. Additionally, it makes use of information on Covid-19 cases in relation to the general populace that is supplied by the Surakarta Municipality. The relationship between mixed land use and Covid-19 risk was analyzed using a linear regression approach. The study's findings indicated a minor influence between density and the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the level of mixed land use does not influence the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Surakarta City.
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Background: This study investigated the association of frequency of going out with physical activity, low back pain, and loneliness among urban Japanese community-dwelling older adults affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited older adults aged 65 and over residing in apartment buildings in an urban area of Japan as participants. The questionnaire comprised items on participants' frequency of going out, musculoskeletal pain, physical activity, mobility, loneliness, and sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the associations of decreased frequency of going out (less than once a week) during the pandemic with musculoskeletal pain, physical activity, and loneliness after controlling for age, sex, living alone, comorbidity, and social activity as confounding factors. Results: This study analyzed 236 older adults (mean age: 75.5 years;females 54.2%) whowent out more than two to three days a week before the pandemic. Participants who went out less than once a week during the pandemic (14%) had more arthritis than those who went out more. They also had a higher prevalence of reduced physical activity, low back pain, gait disability, and loneliness. Additionally, decreased frequency of going out was associated with lower physical activity [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 3.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.78-8.61], low back pain (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.08-7.24), and loneliness (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.14-1.98). Conclusions: This study indicated that reduced physical activity, loneliness, and low back pain are associated with a decreased frequency of going out during the pandemic among older adults.
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Debates within urban studies concerning the relationship between urbanisation and infectious disease focus on issues of urban population growth, density, migration and connectivity. However, an effective long-term risk and wellbeing agenda, without which the threat of future pandemics cannot be mitigated, must also take account of demographic forces and changes as critical drivers of transmission and mortality risk within and beyond cities. A better understanding of the dynamics of fertility, mortality and changing age structures – key determinants of urban decline/growth in addition to migration – provides the foundation upon which healthier cities and a healthy global urban system can be developed. The study of how basic demographic attributes and trends are distributed in space and how they interact with risks, including those of infectious disease, must be incorporated as a priority into a post-COVID-19 urban public health agenda. This perspective concurs with recent debates in urban studies emphasising the demographic drivers of urban change. Moreover, it raises critical questions about the microbial and environmental emphasis of much research on the interface of urban health and governance.
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A necessidade de reconexão da sociedade moderna com a natureza justifica a ampliaçâo de estudos sobre a criaçâo e gestão de espaços naturais protegidos, especialmente em áreas urbanas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a percepçâo de usuários de uma área verde situada na cidade de Mossoró (RN), denominada Parque Municipal Mauricio de Oliveira, em relaçâo as conexöes entre o uso desses espaços e a pandemia da COVID-19, interpretando questöes como a importancia das áreas verdes urbanas, motivaçöes para a visitaçâo, o fechamento dessas áreas em periodos de maior contágio e mortes e a adoçâo de medidas de controle sanitário. Os dados da pesquisa apontam que a frequencia de visitaçâo no Parque aumentou durante a pandemia. Os entrevistados consideraram as áreas verdes importantes ou muito importantes para a sociedade e para saúde física e mental. Em sintese, os resultados evidenciam que o Parque exerce importante papel aos seus usuários como um equipamento de lazer, para atividades físicas e como ambiente restaurador que melhora a sensaçâo de bem-estar e a saúde mental, especialmente em um contexto de isolamento social provocado pela pandemia da COVID-19, levando a crer que se constitui como um espaço que presta serviços essenciais a sociedade.Alternate :The need for reconnection of modern society with nature justifies the expansion of studies on the creation and management of protected natural spaces, especially in urban areas. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the perception of the users of a green area located in the City of Mossoró, State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, called Parque Municipal Mauricio de Oliveira, regarding the connections between the use of these spaces and the COVID-19 pandemic, interpreting aspects such as the importance of urban green areas, motivations for visitation, the closure of these areas in periods of higher transmission and deaths, and the adoption of health control measures. The research data indicate that the frequency of visitation to the Park increased during the pandemic. Interviewees considered the green areas important or especially important for society, and for physical and mental health. Therefore, the results show that the Park plays an important role for its users as a leisure equipment, for physical activities, and as a restorative environment that improves the sense of well-being and mental health, especially in a context of social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the belief that it constitutes a space that provides essential services to society.Alternate :La necesidad de reconectar la sociedad moderna con la naturaleza justifica la expansión de los estudios sobre la creación y gestión de espacios naturales protegidos, especialmente en las zonas urbanas. El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar la percepción de los usuarios de un área verde ubicada en la ciudad de Mossoró (RN), denominada Parque Municipal Mauricio de Oliveira, en relación a las conexiones entre el uso de estos espacios y la pandemia de COVID-19, interpretando temas como la importancia de las áreas verdes urbanas, las motivaciones de visita, el cierre de estas áreas en períodos de mayor contagio y muertes y la adopción de medidas de control sanitario. Los datos de la investigación indican que la frecuencia de visitas al Parque aumentó durante la pandemia. Los encuestados consideraron las áreas verdes importantes o muy importantes para la sociedad y para la salud física y mental. En resumen, los resultados muestran que el Parque juega un papel importante para sus usuarios como espacio de ocio, de actividad física y como entorno reparador que mejora la sensación de bienestar y la salud mental, especialmente en un contexto de aislamiento social provocado por pandemia de COVID-19, lo que lleva a creer que constituye un espacio que brinda servicios esenciales a la sociedad.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the knowledge,attitude, and practice(KAP)related to COVID-19 and the satisfaction with the prevention and control of COVID-19 in urban and Rural Residents in Zunyi City, and provide a reference for the health education and prevention and control of COVID-19. Methods: Through online and offline questionnaires, the stratified multistage sampling method was used to investigate the KAP and satisfaction of urban and rural residents in Zunyi City for the prevention and control of the COVID-19epidemic, and to analyze the differences and influencing factors of KAP among residents with different characteristics. Results: A total of 603 valid questionnaires were collected. The total awareness rate of COVID-19 among residents was 79.43%. There was a significant difference in the awareness of COVID-19 among different ages, educational levels, and occupations(P < 0.05). The proportion of residents with a positive attitude towards COVID-19 was 87.23%, while there was no significant difference in the attitude of residents with different characteristics(P > 0.05). Moreover,93.37% of them had good behavior in preventing the COVID-19 virus, while the differences among residents with different education and occupation were statistically significant(P < 0.05). The result of multivariate analysis showed that residents with low education levels had lower cognition of COVID-19 than those with high education levels OR = 0.647(95%CI 0.548,0.764). The residents with high cognition took better protective behavior than those with low cognition OR = 0.531(95%CI 0.328,0.860). Conclusion: Urban and rural residents have a high degree of satisfaction,a good KAP, and a high level of enthusiasm for COVID-19prevention and control. However,it is necessary to strengthen the publicity and education of COVID-19 in vulnerable groups(such as low education levels and older/younger) to better promote the precise prevention and control of COVID-19.
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Living conditions in today's metropolitan cities shorten the time it takes for individuals to do sports. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of the home office environment has increased, causing physical activities to be moved to the indoor environment. The home environment has brought people's desire for socialization, physical activity, reduction of anxiety levels, and psychological relaxation to the fore even more. The epidemic, which still continues after the closure of more than two years, has expanded the use of casual clothes in the field of formal wear. Employees at the global level have turned to the use of leisure clothing, which provides more comfort than in the past. Depending on this demand, production has also gained momentum in the global sports ready-to-wear industry. This study aims to determine the ready-made clothing products preferred by individuals who regularly do sports and compare them with global data. The data of the research, in which the descriptive method was selected, was collected from structured questionnaires and literature data. The study group consisted of 208 people who volunteered to participate in the research and whose answers were accepted as valid, among the people who regularly do sports in the four big cities of Turkey (Bursa, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir). Some of the data were collected over the internet due to the epidemic, and some of the data were collected through face-to-face interviews in gyms. Descriptive statistics applied data show similarities with global-based apparel market data. Individuals do sports to stay physically and mentally healthy and socialize. Indoor sports halls and houses are the most preferred places for sports activities, and the most preferred clothing products are t-shirts, tracksuits, and undershirt/singlet. The findings have been interpreted comparatively with the global data. It has been tried to reveal the future-oriented data for the product groups and market segments of the companies.
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The world is facing a serious viral infection caused by the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. We aimed to evaluate and map the high-risk clusters of COVID-19 in the State of Alagoas, a touristic area in northeastern Brazil, after two years of pandemic by a population-based ecological study, using COVID-19 cases reported in the State of Alagoas, between March, 2020 and April, 2022. We performed a descriptive and statistical analysis of epidemiological data. We then map high-risk areas for COVID-19, using spatial analysis, considering the incidence rate by municipality. 297,972 positive cases were registered;56.9% were female and 42.7% aged between 20 and 39 years old. Men (OR = 1.59) and older than 60 years old (OR = 29.64) had a higher risk of death, while the highest incidence rates of the disease occurred in the metropolitan region. Our data demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 in the State of Alagoas, through the two years of pandemic. Although the number of cases were greater among women and young adults, the chance of death was greater among men and older adults. High-risk clusters of the disease initially occur in metropolitan cities and tourist areas.
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Data collection and large-scale urban audits are challenging and can be time consuming processes. Geographic information systems can extract and combine relevant data that can be used as input to calculation tools that provide results and quantify indicators with sufficient spatial analysis to facilitate the local decision-making process for building renovations and sustainability assessment. This work presents an open-access tool that offers an automated process that can be used to audit an urban area in order to extract relevant information about the characteristics of the built environment, analyze the building characteristics to evaluate energy performance, assess the potential for the installation of photovoltaics on available building rooftops, and quantify ground permeability. A case study is also presented to demonstrate data collection and processing for an urban city block, and the relevant results are elaborated upon. The method is easily replicable and is based on open data and non-commercial tools.
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Urban areas have interaction characteristics that favor the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lifestyle of urban communities with higher close contact influences the speed of the spread of Covid19, which makes cities play an important role in the transmission of Covid19. Surgo Ventures' Covid19 Community Vulnerability Index variable is used to analyze the community vulnerability in Surakarta Greater Urban. Statistics from government agencies were used to collect data on population, heterogeneity, housing conditions, health care systems, and environmental risks, which were then analyzed in the sub-district spatial unit. The findings show a close correlation between the aggregate value of the Covid19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI) and the rate of spread of Covid19 both in the city center and the urban fringe. However, the variable with the strongest correlation in the urban area differs from the variable in the urban fringe area. Furthermore, there are differences in vulnerability in urban communities. This demonstrates the need for different Covid19 handling strategies in different communities, despite the fact that they are all part of the same urban service system. The identification of these determinants may subsequently contribute to the design of cities that are better prepared for future pandemics.
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CITIES International Conference is an annual international conference organized by the Urban and Regional Planning Department of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS Surabaya). The conference, which debuted in 2005, serves as a platform for academics and practitioners to present, disseminate, and discuss research results in the field of urban and regional planning. Through the efforts of all involved, CITIES has grown from a primarily national conference to one that attracts a diverse, worldwide audience from the Asian, European, Australian, and American continents.CITIES International Conference 2022 will focus on the theme "Future Challenges of the System of Cities”. This theme is important because cities do not grow in isolation, but have interdependent relationships with regions, countries and continents on a larger scale. These relationships must be studied in depth to ensure that urban areas can grow evenly without causing negative effect in the surrounding area. Additionally, this theme also prompts us to examine why production and consumption activities are concentrated or distributed in urban areas of different sizes and compositions. Furthermore, this theme also leads us to explore why the gap between cities, in terms of both skills to income, must be addressed in a measured and careful manner.With this need in mind, CITIES International Conference 2022 is designed to be a meeting place for stakeholders, including academics, researchers, practitioners and bureaucrats, both within and beyond national boundaries. The conference aims to disseminate research results and practical experiences at local, national and global levels, and to share insight and recommendations on improving the quality of city system in the future.CITIES International Conference 2022 was organized in collaboration with the World Planning School Congress (WPSC) and the Asian Planning School Association (APSA) as a joint congress from August 30th to September 2nd, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions caused by high numbers of cases, especially in Indonesia, the event was held virtually using the Zoom platform.List of Sponsor Funding Acknowledgements, Committees, Rundown Cities International Conference 2022 "Future Challenges of the System Of Cities”, Conference Photograps are available in this Pdf.
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Urban human mobility prediction is forecasting how people move in cities. It is crucial for many smart city applications including route optimization, preparing for dramatic shifts in modes of transportation, or mitigating the epidemic spread of viruses such as COVID-19. Previous research propose the maximum predictability to derive the theoretical limits of accuracy that any predictive algorithm could achieve on predicting urban human mobility. However, existing maximum predictability only considers the sequential patterns of human movements and neglects the contextual information such as the time or the types of places that people visit, which plays an important role in predicting one's next location. In this paper, we propose new theoretical limits of predictability, namely Context-Transition Predictability, which not only captures the sequential patterns of human mobility, but also considers the contextual information of human behavior. We compare our Context-Transition Predictability with other kinds of predictability and find that it is larger than these existing ones. We also show that our proposed Context-Transition Predictability provides us a better guidance on which predictive algorithm to be used for forecasting the next location when considering the contextual information. Source code is at https://github.com/zcfinal/ContextTransitionPredictability.
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Our world has drastically changed since COVID-19 hit in March. Half of the department stores anchoring retail districts have closed permanently. Hotels are projecting occupancies below 20 percent. Student housing, multi-family, and senior housing demand have experienced uncharacteristic, disproportional demand reductions. Increased work from home has reduced the need for office space. Major event venues are closed. Active transportation depends upon people's need to travel. Here, McCourt examines what happens when near-term events etch indelible change in how and what people find a need to travel for.
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The sediments underneath Mexico City have unique mechanical properties that give rise to strong site effects. We investigated temporal changes in the seismic velocity at strong-motion and broadband seismic stations throughout Mexico City, including sites with different geologic characteristics ranging from city center locations situated on lacustrine clay to hillside locations on volcanic bedrock. We used autocorrelations of urban seismic noise, enhanced by waveform clustering, to extract subtle seismic velocity changes by coda wave interferometry. We observed and modeled seasonal, co- and post-seismic changes, as well as a long-term linear trend in seismic velocity. Seasonal variations can be explained by self-consistent models of thermoelastic and poroelastic changes in the subsurface shear wave velocity. Overall, sites on lacustrine clay-rich sediments appear to be more sensitive to seasonal surface temperature changes, whereas sites on alluvial and volcaniclastic sediments and on bedrock are sensitive to precipitation. The 2017 Mw 7.1 Puebla and 2020 Mw 7.4 Oaxaca earthquakes both caused a clear drop in seismic velocity, followed by a time-logarithmic recovery that may still be ongoing for the 2017 event at several sites or that may remain incomplete. The slope of the linear trend in seismic velocity is correlated with the downward vertical displacement of the ground measured by interferometric synthetic aperture radar, suggesting a causative relationship and supporting earlier studies on changes in the resonance frequency of sites in the Mexico City basin due to groundwater extraction. Our findings show how sensitively shallow seismic velocity and, in consequence, site effects react to environmental, tectonic and anthropogenic processes. They also demonstrate that urban strong-motion stations provide useful data for coda wave monitoring given sufficiently high-amplitude urban seismic noise.