The COVID-19 pandemic was the largest crisis the world has faced in almost a century. Modern cities were not ready for the coronavirus. Not surprisingly, New York accounted for 15 percent of all COVID deaths in the United States, London accounted for one-fifth of all deaths in Britain, and one-third of coronavirus deaths in Spain were registered in Madrid.
City life is concentrated in crowded offices, public transport, bars, shopping malls, cinemas. But at one point, all these benefits of living in a big city became dangerous because they were conducive to the rapid spread of the disease.
Today, in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities around the world have to adapt to the new reality to meet the needs of city dwellers.
Streetlife has become more lively – moved from indoor to parks, squares, lakes. For example, in New York’s Domino Park, special circles were drawn inside which you can relax or do sports solo. Toronto, Canada has created a safe environment for outdoor exercise – installed transparent domes, under which you can do yoga and fitness.
Some cities change the mode of traffic lights so that pedestrians do not have to press a button to cross the street, waiting for the green light. Such measures have already been advocated in Sydney, London and Los Angeles.
The coronavirus highlighted the importance of ever more space and modes for the safe movement of people. Cities are revising their transportation policies and redistributing road space: they are changing in favor of cyclists and pedestrians.
For example, in Athens, Dublin, Paris, and Milan, the authorities have decided to free public space from cars. Some city streets have been converted into bicycle paths, sidewalks and boulevards have been widened in order to maintain social distance between people. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the launch of the Open Boulevards project, which aims to free a number of streets from public transport to make them places for outdoor lunches, walks, cycling and cultural events.
Today, many cities are turning into “open-air cafes.” For example, the Lithuanian authorities in Vilnius decided to support the restaurant business during the quarantine, allowing the use of additional street space for bars and cafes. The Open Restaurants program has appeared in New York. The city has allowed dining facilities to expand places for visitors to the facades of neighboring houses in consultation with property owners. The initiative has already helped save more than 90,000 jobs.
Creating more walking space and investing in the landscaping of the city leads to reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality. For example, in Milan, during quarantine, congestion was reduced by 30-70%, according to Bloomberg Associates. Consequently, air quality has also improved.
Remote work can motivate people to leave megacities. This, in turn, affects human health and well-being, reducing mortality from COVID. By the way, a team of researchers from Martin Luther University in Germany estimated that 78% of coronavirus deaths in Europe were concentrated in the five most contaminated areas in northern Italy and central Spain.
As we can see, the coronavirus reality is not just about the hitherto unknown disease COVID-19. New realities have drawn attention to climate change and pollution. If the situation with clean air has improved during the strict quarantine, then when the companies fully resume their activities, we can return to the situation we observed before the pandemic.
In Ukraine, there is a lot of work related to the modernization of electricity networks, water supply. That is why Ukrainian mayors are feeling even more pressure for the changes that are ripe. After all, in addition to global challenges, they face their own local challenges, without which the lives of residents will not be better. Cities need to support the economy, invest in the development of “green” energy, in the modernization of treatment plants, create new jobs in sectors such as clean energy and energy efficiency.
Remote work, which has become necessary as a result of the pandemic, can also reduce the amount of transport on the roads and the number of people on public transport, as well as improve the situation with air pollution. A Colliers International survey shows that 82% of office workers surveyed in 25 countries want to continue working from home one or two days a week.
Remote work can also encourage people to move from megacities to small towns. A poll by American sociologist Paul Harris found that as a result of the pandemic, nearly 40% of U.S. residents are considering moving to less densely populated areas. And on the British real estate portal Rightmove, more than half of the inquiries concerned the search for a home outside the capital, while before the pandemic the figure reached 42%. This trend is positive because it will affect the roads and transport congestion, reduce contacts between people, unload office centers and more.
Ukrainian cities should also adapt to new realities – to make life comfortable and safe for their residents. For example, some of them are slowly adopting world experience. In order to draw attention to mass vaccination, the “Vaccination Time” campaign was launched in the cities. In particular, in Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro and Odesa, outdoor advertisements have been created, where illustrated symbols of cities appeal to their residents and remind them that it is time to vaccinate and inform about the opening of new vaccination centers.
At first glance, it may seem that it is easier for American New York or Italian Milan to respond to the challenges than, for example, for Ukrainian Kyiv or Mykolaiv. After all, the budgets of foreign cities are many times larger than ours. Quick adaptation to COVID conditions is possible. In many communities, the local government actively cooperates with businesses, which helps to address the urgent needs of residents and invest in the development of the city. For example, Mykolaiv joined the EU4Business project “COVID-19 Business Clinic,” which provides support to small and medium-sized enterprises so that they can overcome the effects of the pandemic.
The COVID pandemic is already changing our lives. The time in which we live is not only about new challenges but also about new opportunities. That is why it is of utmost importance for the cities to get the changes that have long been ripe and now are more than ever necessary implemented. Many experts around the world predict that the coronavirus is not the only problem the world has faced. Various environmental and climatic challenges can await us. So, cities not only need to be ready to adapt quickly to new conditions. They now have a responsible mission – because they are becoming adapters to change.
