Pandemics, cities and Public Health / Pandemias, ciudades y Salud Pública Pandemias, cidades e Saúde Pública

ABSTRACT

Abstract Public Health and urban planning, which were once strongly connected, now go separately and are practically united only in sanitation policies. New and old health threats brought by urbanization and highlighted by the current pandemic emphasized the close relationship between health and the urban environment. Measures to control the current SARS-Cov-2 pandemic resulted in cleaner urban environments, particularly with lower levels of air pollution in many cities due to drastic reduction in economic activity and mobility patterns. COVID-19 is also related to air pollution by possibly increasing susceptibility to infection and the lethality of the disease. Both aspects are discussed in view of the recent literature and empirical data for the city of Sao Paulo. In preparing for the post-pandemic, health should be back at the center of decisions regarding urban life and urban planning and Public Health re-connected.