Informal urbanism in the state of uncertainty: forms of informality and urban health emergencies
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Informal urbanism in the state of uncertainty: forms of informality and urban health emergencies Hesam Kamalipour1 · Nastaran Peimani2 Accepted: 9 November 2020 © Springer Nature Limited 2020
Abstract Forms of informality—ranging from informal settlements to street vending and informal transport—have become integral, yet not necessarily limited to how cities of the global South work. Our aim in this paper is to explore the dynamics of informal urbanism in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent to which forms of informality can adapt in the state of uncertainty. This paper lies in the intersections of informal urbanism and urban design in relation to public health emergencies. This is an exploratory paper in nature, structured in three main sections to focus on the implications of the Coronavirus pandemic on informal settlements, street vending, and informal transport, respectively. We point to how different forms of informality work across cities and conclude by outlining some key considerations and discussing the role of urban design in addressing the capacities and challenges of informal urbanism in the state of uncertainty facing public health emergencies such as the Coronavirus pandemic. Keywords Informality · Informal urbanism · Public space · Pandemic · COVID-19 · Health · Informal settlement · Street vending · Informal transport
Introduction The emergence and spread of the COVID-19 as a global pandemic have substantially changed the ways in which everyday urban life plays out in public space. Many cities have surrendered to fear with deserted public spaces and underused streets in lockdowns upending the longstanding desire of urban design to enable and sustain place vitality. Yet, as many people across the world have resorted to private territories, neighbourhood streets and public/private interfaces have become an extension of the existing sidewalks to at once enable social exchange and constrain physical encounters. Urban spaces have also become appropriated in * Hesam Kamalipour [email protected] Nastaran Peimani [email protected] 1
School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, Room 2.98 Glamorgan Building South, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WA, UK
Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Room 1.33 Bute Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
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different ways, from resorting to private modes of mobility, ranging from scooters and bikes to private cars, to exploring the existing amenities such as neighbourhood parks and local shops within walkable catchment areas in proximity to places of living. While cities have been considered as the key nodes struggling with the COVID-19 outbreak, it is still too soon to make rigorous conclusions about the spatial and temporal implications of the COVID-19 pandemic as the related data is often partial or limited to particular places or scales. A crisis period at once demands immediate actions and calls for critical reflections on its capacity to intensify preexisting condition
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