The Pandemic City

As our cities find their feet again, architect Alan Abraham gives us a peek into the outside world, and how it can and should change to make our post-pandemic lives better

- ALAN ABRAHAM

Pandemics have helped shape our cities. From London’s sewage systems to New York’s Central Park, many positive design changes in the urban realm have been driven by disease outbreaks. We are in the middle of a pandemic and already witnessing severe lifestyle changes, from work-at-home to social distancing, from the lockdown to compulsory facial masks.

THE PUBLIC LIVING ROOM

The city is our living room. It is also our dining room, our entertainment room and our study. The city, in effect, is an extension of our homes, and essentially determines our lifestyles. Most of us probably spend more of our time outside the home than within; the recent lockdown imposed by the pandemic has, of course, temporarily changed that equation, and our home as we knew it is now also our workplace and school – an all-in-one space that we have been confined to. So as planners, we question the city and its design, and wonder why the outside is not as beautiful or as functional as the inside of our homes, and how we can make that happen.

THE PROBLEMS AND THEIR ROOTS

DENSITY & NEIGHBOURHOODS

First, let us look at density, which has been blamed for many of our urban problems. This is an oversimplification and incorrect. The real issue is crowding or the lack of both private living space and neighborhood civic spaces. The conditions people live in are far more important than the number of people living in a certain area.