Key Levers to Reform Non-Motorized Transport: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

The objective of this research was to understand key levers that enabled city, regional, and national governments to improve non-motorized transport (NMT) infrastructure during the lockdowns necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research focused primarily on cycling and adopted a case study approach focusing on three cities: Bengaluru (India), Bogota (Colombia), and London (UK). The selected cities were chosen for diversity across geographies, country income levels, and the scale of interventions. Eight key levers were identified to understand how cycling interventions can be supported, implemented, sustained, and scaled up. These included institutional and organizational arrangements;technical capacity;financing;leadership;policy and regulatory framework;plans, strategies, and technical resources;role of civil society;and communications, messaging, and outreach. The research used secondary literature reviews and key informant interviews, which were validated through an online round table. Research revealed that certain levers were necessary in initiating and continuing successful NMT interventions. These included supportive leadership, participative civil society, and adequate financial and technical capacity. Communications and outreach helped bring behavioral change amongst residents while a coordinated institutional framework and plans and strategies were necessary to sustain momentum. This research contributes to urban mobility and public administration literature in understanding processes and enablers of sustainable mobility interventions. It is relevant for cities in low-and middle-income countries beginning to focus on NMT interventions to combat climate change and public health challenges. © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2021.

Negative health impact of tourists through pandemic: hospitality sector perspective.

Although the impact of tourism development on residents has received a lot of attention in the literature, the health impact of tourism has not been sufficiently addressed. Due to outbreaks of COVID-19, the importance of recognition of the negative health impact of tourism is relevant. Thus, the present study aims to identify the health impact of tourism through COVID-19 outbreaks considering residents' perspectives. In the current research, we gathered data from semi-structured interviews conducted from 10th August to 30 August 2020 to investigate community perception regarding the negative health impact of tourism through the COVID-19 era. We conducted 30 interviews with some Iranian residents. Data is analyzed by thematic analysis via MAXQDA software. Residents perceived negative health impacts through COVID-19 outbreaks as containing three subthemes including general negative impacts, direct negative impacts, and indirect negative impacts. The results also show that residents use two coping strategies to face these negative health impacts, namely negative coping strategies and positive coping strategies. Perceived negative health impacts, and residents' coping strategies are two major themes regarding Iranian residents' perception toward tourism negative health impacts through COVID-19 outbreaks.