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A review of COVID-19: Implications for Canadian cities to enhance well-being and resilience
Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal,
17
(2),
231-248
(2023)
Abstract
Among the many detrimental impacts of COVID-19 is diminished well-being. The dimensions of well-being extend beyond a person or household because well-being also pertains to interconnections with society. Canadian cities have been especially hard hit by the pandemic and sustained the brunt of the fallout, but they will recover. The pandemic has heightened awareness of the need for improved urban planning and design for citizen well-being. This paper presents a scoping literature review (2020–1) to portray the impacts and learnings of COVID-19 on cities. The review discusses the impacts the pandemic has had on health and well-being and highlights, for example, the unique vulnerabilities of younger age groups. The findings from the literature review discuss how cities, centres of growth and vibrancy, can improve well-being and resilience. The areas of improvement are categorised in terms of buildings, transport and mobility, green spaces and open areas, and new and expanded digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). Then, the recommendations outline proactive governance strategies such as making well-being a strategic priority, meaningful and inclusive citizen engagement and multisectoral collaboration, agile governance and leveraging best practices. The innovations and responsive approaches demonstrated by cities during the pandemic can be redeployed post-pandemic via partnerships to develop sustainable and resilient recovery plans.
Keywords: built environment; cities; COVID-19; green spaces; health and well-being; local governance and municipalities; urban
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Patricia Macneil is an academic practitioner with extensive public sector experience working within multiple governments in Canada. Throughout her 30-year public sector career, she specialised in public policy, strategic management and stakeholder relations. An enthusiastic advocate for lifetime learning, she returned to university as a mature student to obtain a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). Currently, she is a part-time lecturer at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and an Academic Coach at Athabasca University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Her research interests are corporate sustainability, corporate social responsibility, leadership and ethics. The COVID-19 pandemic revived an earlier focus on health and well-being outcomes.
Kam Jugdev is a Professor in the Faculty of Business at Athabasca University. She joined Athabasca University in 2003 following a career as a project manager. Kam enjoys being able to relate theory to practice with students and through her research and teaching. She is an active and collaborative researcher in project management.
Anshuman Khare is Professor in operations management at Athabasca University, Canada. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and a former Monbusho Scholar. His research focuses on environmental regulation impacts on industry, sustainability, cities and climate change, etc. His current research focus is on the impact of digital technologies on business and education. Anshuman has co-edited a series of books on the digital transformation of business published by Springer and Routledge.
