Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Consider methods to increase participatory decision-making. The Open City Toolkit (OCT) is a web-based geographic information system (GIS) that supports “integrated and participatory urban planning processes, fostering dialogue between governments and citizens and exchange of knowledge and data between government departments”. The OCT Toolkit, developed by HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU) and Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeir GnbH (GIZ), is now freely available and offers:

• Guidance to help local government and urban planners to visualise and analyse complex urban data, collaboratively among local practitioners and with citizens
• An online introductory tutorial which details the technical components of the system and how these components work together for the tool to function
• A further tutorial series which guides the user of the OCT step-by-step through the process of managing the system.

The OCT is currently being piloted in two cities:

• Bhubaneswar, India where high numbers of people are living in informal settlements (e.g. slums) and the local government are using the OCT to identify land for the development of affordable housing
• Latacunga, Ecuador, where large areas of the city are vulnerable to risk due to their proximity to the Cotopaxi volcano and the local government intend to use the OCT to develop collaborative solutions for volcanic risk governance

The OCT has been adapted to the specific local planning requirements of the two pilot cities mentioned above, but offers open software for the development of further functionalities for new contexts.

Historically, public health crises, such as pandemics, have transformed various elements of city planning - namely, urban ecology, sanitation systems, public parks, street design and housing regulations - and how people inhabit and interact within urban areas. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed various pre-existing problems, but also brought new opportunities to city planning. National, regional and local governments have the opportunity to address both old and new problems in their recovery and renewal plans. The UN recommends the following:

• “Strengthen coordination between cities, regions and territories through the creation of shared decision-making platforms”, in order to leverage shared interests and align policies
• Recognize the link between public health and environmental quality, and introduce environmental protection measures, such as blue-green networks (natural and semi-natural landscape elements like trees and ponds), urban growth boundaries, land use and zoning regulations, and carbon-taxes to reduce ecosystem deterioration and improve air quality
• Improve logistics and supply chains, including:
  • “connectivity within cities and regions through national urban policies and plans that facilitate the secure flow and movement of goods, services and labour
  • Building regional resilience by strengthening localized means of production for essential provisions such as food and medical supply chains, by, for example, incentivizing investments that support local means of production and/or shorten supply chains”
• Increase resilience, by identifying and improving urban “weak spots”. These are locations vulnerable to shocks or stresses due to issues such as overcrowding, limited or poor connectivity, or being situated in flood plains
• Prioritise neighbourhoods in city planning, with a focus on developing “self-contained and socially inclusive communities”. Consider the concept of a 15-minute neighbourhood, where all facilities can be accessed within a 15 minute walk
• Develop a strategy for public spaces and urban mobility to renew public areas and their potential uses. For example, in Milan:
  • The “Strade Aperte” project which details Milan’s strategies for cycling and pedestrianization to “guarantee measures of distance in urban travel and for sustainable mobility”
  • The “Piazza Aperte” project which aims to “bring public space back to the centre of the neighbourhood and the life of the inhabitants”
• Address housing issues through public health strategies, recognising the social, economic and environmental benefits of adequate housing
• Identify and tackle the fragilities in infrastructure, e.g. the design of buildings such as offices, factories, plants, and hospitals that have emerged as epicentres for COVID-19 outbreaks

Use of public transport can “reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality and public health”. The Local Government Association (LGA) UK note that COVID-19 has exacerbated pre-existing challenges in the decline of the bus industry and recommend that recovery should employ “council’s and central government’s funding, infrastructure and traffic powers to work in partnership with public transport providers”. A study by the LGA aimed to understand local authority (LA) recovery priorities for local transport provision, what can accelerate these priorities, what challenges have prevented these priorities from being successfully implemented previously and what reforms are required for recovery and renewal. Consider the themes for recovery identified by local councils in this study:

‘Deliver Local Authority responsibilities effectively’

• Increase the capabilities of LAs to provide school transport, “socially necessary bus services” and to account for the needs of communities e.g. elderly populations:
  • Increase LAs agency on how local funds are spent to improve their ability to address their responsibilities and context specific challenges posed by some operating environments (e.g. rural areas)

‘Make bus services more accessible for commuters’

• Affordable, practical and convenient services are viewed as a new way to “connect new communities, reduce car dependency and congestions, lower carbon emission and fight climate change, improve air quality and health, and tackle social inequalities”. Examples of best practice include:
  • More efficient services which reduce travel times and operating costs, renewed branding and increased marketing
  • Integrate service networks with other networks such as rail/tram/cycle lanes, and integrate tickets and payment to improve ease of travel across various networks

‘New Approaches to Transport Delivery’

• New challenges caused by the pandemic, pre-existing problems and specific contextual issues (E.g. rural area networks) require innovative solutions, for example:
  • “Demand Responsive Transport (DRT)” can support improvements to connect rural and isolated networks and communities, create “flexibility for school transport and be used as model for community led transport schemes” (See Rural and Demand-Led Transport)
  • “Total Transport and Mobility as a Service (MaaS)” can support integration of transport network modes, tickets and payments and sectoral transport (e.g. health, education, tourism)

‘Link Public Transport and Development’

• Co-ordinate “land use planning and local public transport planning to build demand, reduce car reliance and ensure people have equitable access to jobs, healthcare and other services”, by:
  • Designing “liveable neighbourhoods” that reduce people’s need for non-local travel (increasing local services e.g. through hubs)

‘Contribute to tackling climate change’

• Address negative impacts of transport on the environment by improving bus fleets - replacing older vehicles with low and zero emission vehicles e.g. Coventry All Electric Bus

These themes in this report relate to six case study areas in the UK, with feedback sessions with wider local authorities suggesting that these themes are shared, but their scale and implementation may vary depending on the local context.

The pressures placed on the global food system during COVID-19 activated various policy responses across the world to manage supply and demand. Sub-Saharan African countries rely heavily on food imports. This means that international agricultural policy responses to the pandemic in markets on which Africa relies, directly affect the region’s food markets. Potential impacts include “commodity price volatility the availability of supplies and farmers’ planting decisions”. Consider how to address the impacts of COVID and build food system resilience for the future with regard to countries that rely on food imports:

• Design more “holistic policy interventions” which tackle bottlenecks in the vast span of “value chain actors” e.g. suppliers and transporters, traders and retailers, to advance resilience of the entire supply chain
• Invest in market infrastructure, e.g. cold storage systems, to strengthen supply chains of perishable goods
• Establish and increase social protections for particularly vulnerable groups e.g. “urban poor, informal workers and resource-poor smallholder farmers"
• Advance regional and local trade agreements that enable greater food market integration – with the aim of developing resilient domestic and regional food systems, lowering the reliance on importing, and increasing local domestic economic growth

A 2019 report ‘Lifelines: The Resilient Infrastructure Opportunity’, published by the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), highlighted the net benefits of investing in resilient infrastructure in developing countries (which could save “$4.2 Trillion”). Accelerating resilient infrastructure has recently dominated discussions about recovery from COVID-19 across the world and how this can improve health, education and livelihoods. The report included five recommendations for advancing resilient infrastructure:

• ‘Get the basics right’, through regulation and procurement law to improve management and governance to build resilient infrastructure
• ‘Build institutions for resilience’, to tackle wider “political economy” issues. Identify critical infrastructure assets to inform how resources are allocated
• ‘Create regulations and incentives for resilience’, to account for disruptions to infrastructure and encourage service providers to go further than just meeting their obligatory standards
• ‘Improve decision making’, through improved data, tools and skills (e.g. “digital elevation models” which are crucial to informing investment decisions in urban areas)
• ‘Provide financing that is targeted and timely’, focused on preparedness and prevention to improve resilience and reduce the likelihood of needing to spend billions to recover and renew from the impacts of an emergency

A recent webinar, organised by the World Bank and Resilient Cities Network, builds on this report and discusses resilient infrastructure: what it is, how it can be identified and how cities can advance resilient infrastructure so that it achieve multiple goals. You can watch this webinar here.

Infrastructure investment has been found to effectively stimulate economic activity. Project prioritization and methods of financing are two key policy and investment questions, noted by the International Transport Forum (OECD). Consider:

• Projects which deliver jobs, stimulate growth in the short- and medium-term should be prioritised
• Those projects that are already in the pipeline with cleared planning and environmental approval should be the focus
• "Interventions should be Timely, Targeted and Temporary: the IMF's TTT principle"
• Local projects should be accurately estimated and the life-span of projects should be effectively forecasted
• Incentives or stimulus packages should be based on aims to drive "decarbonisation, social equity and resilience"

Yesterday, RCN launched Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's R-Cities Board Chair's Agenda for "climate-ready infrastructure that is equitable and produces green jobs". This agenda expands RCN's commitment to support cities across the world in a resilient recovery. The preliminary actions for advancing this agenda include; 'Assessing R-Cities work across the network that advances this agenda; Engaging with existing communities of practice, programmes, and partners to share and exchange knowledge around this agenda; and Mobilizing resources to deliver place-based projects in multiple cities that advance the agenda'. This initiative will support resilience in cities in multiple ways, including:

• Call for de-siloing investments in resilience to create climate-ready infrastructure that is equitable and creates green jobs
• Amplify the co-benefits of city transitions to net zero greenhouse gas emissions
• Demonstrate how interconnected services, that support communities and economies, can withstand the disruptions of an uncertain future with climate-ready infrastructure
• Demonstrate how climate-ready infrastructure embraces innovation and the interdependencies of resilient city systems, that are critical to equitable outcomes for people
• Watch the latest Cities on the Frontline Speaker Series #07 Earth Day which launches this agenda here.

As schools begin to re-open, it is important to consider the wide range of needs and emotions of young people and staff whose lives and education have been disrupted by the pandemic. Pupils and staff may be anxious or hesitant about returning to school and may require additional support. Consider:

• Encourage schools to identify learning of what went well and what could be improved based on their experience of previous lockdowns - and use this learning to improve planning
• Identify the current capacity of services and forecast potential demand for social services to which schools may refer children and families. Create additional capacity where forecasted demand exceeds current capacity
• Work closely with schools to monitor school attendance and identify children who have not returned or are showing signs of distress:
  • Encourage school staff to reach out to families to understand the challenges that they are facing in returning to school
  • Enhance partnerships between schools and social services, to ensure any child who needs additional support is identified and appropriate support is offered
  • Ensure schools refer families who are identified as struggling or in need of additional support to specialist services
• Assess the impacts of further disruption and change for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their carers/specialist teachers/support staff in mainstream schools:
  • Staff illness or self-isolation may mean that schools do not have adequate levels of staff with vital specialist training - schools should inform local authorities to discuss alternative arrangements for vulnerable children in this event
  • Encourage schools to complete risk assessments and begin to plan for how one-to-one specialist teaching will take place safely and potential disruptions identified and actions taken to mitigate their occurrence
• Allocate funding to provide additional mental health support in schools for pupils and staff who may have experienced trauma, separations from or loss of loved ones or whose family may be struggling financially, e.g. due to job loss
• Encourage schools to prioritise children's wellbeing especially in the first few weeks, avoid rushing to reinstate routines or adding pressure on teachers and students to catch up
• Request a temporary suspension of school inspections to give staff time to implement and adjust to new procedures that may be required, such as health and safety protection measures

Concurrent emergencies such as disruption to water supply or contamination of water resources can have serious impacts on healthcare facilities and the health of individuals, which may be amplified during a pandemic. Water outages or contaminated water can disrupt clinical procedures, e.g. maintaining a sterile environment in hospitals. Protecting water supply is also crucial during a pandemic, as poor hygiene is a catalyst for the rapid spread of infectious disease. Consider:

• Early scenario planning to consider different types of water shortages alongside the pandemic, and assess potential impacts on health facilities and public health
• The need to establish new systems to provide immediate support to communities in the event of water supply disruption or contamination during COVID-19:
  • Evaluate emergency response measures (e.g. mass water distribution) to determine if they are COVID-safe, and make necessary amendments if required
  • Plan for the need to construct and install handwashing stations in affected communities, to prevent rapid spread of the virus
• The potential for water stagnation to occur in buildings that have been unoccupied over the last year, which may lead to contamination
  • Identify buildings that have been unoccupied and plan for maintenance contractors to test and repair water systems before allowing the building to re-open

Although home-based working has become the norm for a large percentage of the population, many workers have had to be physically present in their usual workplace. Many who have had to travel to workplaces during the pandemic have changed their mode of transport due to potential infection risks, delays and inconvenience due to cancelled or reduced public transport - i.e. they have changed their commute from public transport to private cars or bicycles. This has reduced their travel time, especially as traffic volumes are below pre-pandemic levels. Consider:

• That traffic congestion and the demand for parking space could increase dramatically as restrictions ease and more people opt for private transport, which may lead to increases in:
  • Infrastructure maintenance costs on roads and motorways
  • Negative environmental impacts, e.g. pollution
  • Road traffic accidents and increased risk to cyclists and pedestrians, plus loss of public space, which may reduce the number of people who choose to cycle or walk
  • Costs and challenges for freight and delivery services
• A travel awareness communication campaign, prior to an ease of restrictions:
  • Raise awareness of the benefits of sustainable travel for improving air quality and reducing pollution
  • Promote the health and well-being benefits of 'active transport' such as cycling
  • Communicate the stringent safety measures in place on public transport to increase confidence and encourage people to travel by bus/train
• Draw on learning from previous crises to predict likely behaviours and inform policies that are fit for purpose, e.g. following the 2008 economic crisis, increased traffic increased congestion (Madrid, Spain)
• Expand and improve cycling and walking space and infrastructure around workplaces
• In cities, reduce speed limits to allow pedestrians and cyclists to be more confident and allow for social distancing
• Promote and expand schemes such as 'Cycle2Work' by removing spending caps and allowing people to by bikes through the scheme that are appropriate and relevant for them (see TMB Issue 7):
  • Introduce a reimbursement scheme to reward cycling commuters, e.g. Netherlands offer 0.19 cent (euro) per kilometre cycled to work, or interest-free loans to purchase bikes
  • Trial an e-bike hire scheme in cities, e.g. Leicester (UK)
• Review congestions charge policies and assess if they are appropriate for post-COVID activity
• Introduce new policies, e.g. workplace parking levy, a charge on employers who provide workplace parking (Nottingham City Council, UK)

COVID-19 is thought to spread through shared surface contact which has led to additional cleaning of public transport, public spaces, and other infrastructure. Pedestrian crossings have been targeted for improvement to avoid people having to press buttons and prevent groups of pedestrians forming as they wait to cross. For example, crossings have been reprogrammed to prioritise pedestrians or have been upgraded to touch-less systems to offer a more hygienic alternative to the standard push button. These measures prevent people from potentially contaminating their hands and encourage safe pedestrian behaviour by ensuring that those cautious of waiting near others and touching push buttons don't cross dangerously. Consider:

• Reprogramme traffic lights to prioritise pedestrians instead of road vehicles:
  • Change the traffic light default swap preference from vehicles to pedestrians - to reduce the time spent by groups of pedestrians at crossings
  • Minimise the impact of new measures on increased traffic congestion by using traffic detection technology
• Install touchless technology to replace buttons:
  • Assess pedestrian crossings to determine the number of touchless push buttons required
  • Scope costs from potential suppliers, and assess affordability
  • Partner with other interested authorities to conduct a trial, choosing locations where regular site inspection and user behaviour observation can be carried out
  • Using results from the trial, identify and allocate funding to road and transport authorities to install touch-less buttons
  • Identify the utilisation of pedestrian crossings and develop an installation priority list
  • Include a feedback sound in touchless technology to ensure ease of use for people with vision impairment and other disabilities
  • Raise public awareness by fixing infographic signage to pedestrian crossing poles that provide functionality and instructions

As hospitality venues prepare for a safe re-opening, technology can support customer safety and rebuild client confidence. For example, the necessity of contactless service delivery has accelerated and motivated the wider adoption of new technologies across hospitality venues. Consider developing an audit and certification process that supports and guides hospitality venues in the adoption of new technology:

• Identify actions that can make hospitality venues more COVID-safe using technology e.g. replace tangible menus with an ordering app, use scannable QR codes, replace room keys with mobile keys, contactless communications using customer-facing technology tools, guest communications via chatbots/messaging platforms, contactless temperature checks at entrances, air quality improvement and ventilation via bipolar ionisation technology
• Use the identified actions to establish a checklist of practices that hospitality venues may be audited against
• Identify the minimum requirement for hospitality venues to be eligible for certification of COVID-safe technology adoption and service provision
• Identify how the hospitality venue protects its customers by using secure platforms
• Use the checklist and minimum requirements as part of an audit process to certify the safety of hospitality venues
• Apply the audit process to hospitality venues
• Use the audit process to identify further actions that hospitality venues can implement to increase their COVID-safety
• Publicise a list of certified hospitality venues
• Provide certified hospitality venues with certificates/logos that they can display in their window and online
• Have a whistleblower procedure for staff and customers to report serious breaches

During the pandemic public toilets have been closed with a view to reducing possible sites of COVID-19 transmission. This has resulted in reported increases in open defecation and urination, which could create another public health crisis. Also, the closure of public toilets can negatively impact people's wellbeing and mental health as some people may not feel comfortable using outdoor spaces for fresh air and exercise without knowing there is a public toilet available. Consider guidelines on:

• The safe opening of public toilets in 'BS 45005 Safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic - General guidelines for organizations'
• Revisions of BS 6465 Sanitary installations: Part 1 Code of practice for the design of sanitary facilities and scales of provision of sanitary and associated appliances, and Part 4 Code of practice for the provision of public toilets

Previously, employers in the USA have supported influenza preparedness by providing on-site clinics to administer flu shots for their staff. It may be possible for organisations to use previous arrangements and infrastructure for flu vaccination to support the COVID-19 vaccination programme. If organisations do not have such infrastructure, developing it could help support COVID-19 vaccination programmes and expedite employees return to work. This may be dependent on the type of vaccinations available and requirements for their storage. When a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available and accessible consider:

• Making vaccination a part of worksite wellness programmes whereby staff can be vaccinated at an onsite clinic provided by their employers
• How employers can provide supplementary support in tackling COVID-19 transmission, alongside the vaccine, through educational material on preventative measures e.g. mask wearing, to promote long-term public health compliance

AI uses computer systems to perform tasks associated with human intelligence. This can be used to help detect and interpret patterns useful for managing emergencies. Explore with AI experts how AI may be used in COVID-19 mitigation, preparation, response and recovery:

• Mitigation: To recognize patterns in the environment to provide early warning e.g. data on compounding factors associated with COVID-19 infection such as urban poverty to provide information on potentially high risk areas
• Preparation: To analyse patterns in natural and social phenomena e.g. impacts of natural disasters on hospital capacity during COVID-19. Run emergency simulations to mathematically model detailed emergency management plans to account for compounding disasters during the pandemic
• Response and Recovery: To evaluate situational information from social media, and surveillance cameras to determine where response is needed, and to support coordination of recovery activities e.g. drones can be used to transport PPE, using online information developed by mapping COVID hotspots. In the UK, Windracers (a humanitarian aid transportation company) used delivery drones to fly four times a day to the Isle of Wight, taking just 10 minutes to deliver PPE

Many cities have been severely impacted by the pandemic due to inadequate access to basic services, healthcare, and adequate accommodation. Lessons from the pandemic can be used to reimagine city design and deploy solutions that can build health, equity and climate resilience. Areas with high deprivation have been hardest hit by COVID and are more susceptible to other emergencies. Steps made pre-pandemic in Rotterdam to improve the region of BoTu, a densely populated area and one of the most deprived in the Netherlands, offers lessons for recovery and renewal from COVID-19:

• Tackle climate change, social and economic challenges and resilience building in one overarching plan due to the crosscutting nature of COVID-19 and its impacts
• Consider partnerships that link multiple services with households such as Go BoTu, a collective comprising doctors, health workers, teachers, local business people, and community workers that help involve local people in city planning and wider resilience measures e.g. workers replacing heating systems with environmentally friendly alternatives in BoTu will be trained to identify households with other needs, such as debt counselling
• Expand the use of green spaces to meet community needs e.g. more sports fields or cycle lanes. Use community capacity for building and renovation work to stimulate the local economy
• Climate change adaptability will depend on greater water absorbance to prevent flooding, consider how the city stores rainwater and how stored water can be used

The impacts of COVID-19 have seen millions of children worldwide lose months of face-to-face education with their teachers at school. Globally, children continue to be sent home from school due to outbreaks or face complete school closure. The availability of adequate digital technology and internet access at home has a huge impact on the ability of children to engage in e-learning. The rapid shift to e-learning prompted by the pandemic has resurfaced long-standing issues of inequality, including the digital divide once bridged by schools. Consider:

• Shortening online lessons by a small margin to create a space for one-to-one discussions or problem solving with tutors that are often missing when lessons go online
• Household disparities in access to the internet and technology and the impacts this may have on girls. If there is competition in the home over resources it may be that the male child is given priority access while girls are increasingly asked to support with domestic chores rather than complete school work. Consider how schools can be supported in providing technology or access to technology to vulnerable children
• Ensure teachers are trained to use new technology for online teaching. This includes making use of more innovative modes of engagement beyond a lecture e.g. interactive voting, message boards etc.

Computers and other digital devices are increasingly being used to teach children, and as part of children's education into today's digital economy. However, research shows that technology's impact on student learning has remained limited, partly because the rapid adoption of technology has not been accompanied by appropriate training of teachers. COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of digital technologies. It is important that teachers have the capacity and capabilities to use emerging and new technologies, and to impart these skills onto students as they will be required to navigate and work in a digital world. Consider:

• How to develop partnerships between schools and the technology industry to help teachers develop the skills they need to educate children effectively
• How to offer and encourage teachers to undertake additional qualifications to support the curriculum e.g. Fujitsu's Certificate of Digital Excellence (CoDE) which is a free, online learning experience for teachers, which helps educate them on topics such as Artificial Intelligence, cyber Virtual Reality, Big Data and Programming and Robotics. Each of these has been recognised as a technology or skill needed by the next generation to help with their future careers

Vaccines are highly perishable and must be kept at very cold, specific temperatures. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines under development will spoil, and need to be discarded, if they are not kept at the right temperature. National and local governments, alongside health systems and the private sector, need to imminently consider their cold chains to avoid unnecessary spoiling of vaccines. The cold chain is a supply chain that can keep vaccines in tightly controlled temperatures from the moment they are made to the moment that they are administered to a person. Preparing the cold chain may take months, so investments into planning and resources now can help expand and support the current vaccine cold chain so it is ready and able to meet the scale of the mass vaccination programmes required. To prepare/scale up the cold chain consider:

• Where vaccines will be produced and transported, and the requirements for transportation including planes and trucks within countries and for distribution abroad
• There are a number of vaccines under development, many of which require different temperatures and handling procedures. Which will be approved first is unknown, therefore to prepare staff when one is approved staff in the cold chain should be trained to handle all possible vaccines to save time and avoid spoilage
• The frequency of deliveries that may be needed to facilities where dispensing will take place. This depends on the refrigeration capacity of health care organizations and hospitals, staffing resources, the locations the vaccines, and the shelf life of the vaccine
• How to expand shipping and storage capacity, including the specialised equipment needed to store vaccines at certain temperatures. Encourage airports and logistics companies to evaluate how well they could meet cold chain requirements

AI uses computer systems to perform tasks associated with human intelligence. This can be used to help detect and interpret patterns useful for managing emergencies. Explore with AI experts how AI may be used in COVID-19 mitigation, preparation, response and recovery:

• Mitigation: To recognize patterns in the environment to provide early warning e.g. data on compounding factors associated with COVID-19 infection such as urban poverty to provide information on potentially high risk areas
• Preparation: To analyse patterns in natural and social phenomena, and run emergency simulations to develop detailed emergency management plans
• Response and Recovery: To sort situational information from social media, and surveillance cameras (fixed, drones, satellites) to determine where response is needed, and to support coordination of recovery activities

GISs use computer-based tools to allow users to create interactive queries, edit and analyse spatial data and to visually share results by presenting them as maps or other infographics in real-time. During COVID-19 GISs have been used to reveal patterns and trends to help communicate information to the public, develop forecasting tools to identify trends in the virus’ transmission, and to support resource allocation during COVID response. Consider using GIS to:

• Develop publicly available maps. In Singapore, a publicly available real-time map updates on the current situation in public spaces. This can help residents to plan their activities safely e.g. show how busy public spaces are and the location of less busy spaces
• Provide near real-time updates of estimated wait times at Accident & Emergency. In Northern Ireland, a dashboard is updated hourly by NIDirect (an official government website) that provides information on open hospitals and wait times
• Inform people about changes in business operations and location of key services. In New Zealand, officials built a map that shows open businesses and whether or not the organization’s operations have been impacted e.g. reduced hours or closures
• Develop self-reporting health systems. In Switzerland, public health officials built a crowdsourcing application for people to anonymously self-report their health status. In addition, they can report their post code, age, size of household, living situation, and pre-existing health conditions. The results are shown on a map that health officials can use to assess gaps in confirmed cases and areas where people are self-reporting symptoms, and to identify areas for intervention

Information asymmetry means that one party has more or better information than the other. During COVID-19 information asymmetry has led to food waste and unsustainable farming practices as information about food production is only available to a small number of people in the supply chain. Decentralised information that includes small-scale and flexible production can support more uncertain operating environments such as those needed during COVID-19. Producers and retailers can consider how to increase the flexibility and sustainability of their supply chains by:

• De-concentrating markets and supply chains by ensuring they are not concentrated in a small number of large companies by using online platforms that create more access for businesses to sell goods and provide producers and consumers more options:
  • In Peru, 80% of merchants at a major market tested positive for COVID-19, but authorities felt closing the market would result in significant food shortages as the supply was concentrated. However in India, by selling through digital platforms, coffee producers were able to keep selling, and obtain significantly higher prices than usual
• Tracing food throughout the supply chain in a decentralized manner creates opportunities for safer, more sustainable food to protect from zoonotic disease:
  • In Uruguay, foot and mouth transmission was mitigated through de-centralized information sharing where the system would assign an identification code to cattle, letting you know its treatment and location on the production chain in real time
• Disseminating open data throughout the complex food system to: correct information asymmetries, encourage innovation, and increase efficiency of public spending

COVID-19 has meant organisations have had to rapidly innovate online. This has required them to embrace some unfamiliar digital tools. Those with a relative lack of skill or confidence in this unplanned digital transformation, are at heightened risk from cybercrime. Consider actions:

• That determine an organisations’ confidence:
  • Gather information on the digital skills and confidence in businesses, and what they need to improve these
  • Raise awareness of the risks of cybercrime
  • Provide appropriate support to businesses as they innovate online
• That organisations should implement now:
  • Secure remote access/ collaboration services
  • Increase anti-phishing measures
  • Address business continuity
  • Establish a culture of cyber hygiene by resourcing and managing/monitoring assets
• That organisations should implement soon:
  • Understand your security and the effectiveness of controls
  • Put security actions into all decision making
  • Secure users’ confidence, and data, protect your brand
  • Prioritise security in budget allocations
• That organisations should implement in the future (12 months):
  • Think longer term about security of processes and architectures
  • Prioritise, adopt and accelerate the execution of strict access control and security through virtual network functions
  • Automate to improve security of users, devices and data

Business continuity of transport systems is critical while ensuring safe conditions for staff and passengers. IAPT provide early advice to considering:

• Preparing - follow their recommendations for all public transport networks
• Personal protection - increase personal protection and hygiene measures to reassure both staff and passengers
• Reduced service - may be required in outbreak areas
• Reduced contact - reduction of contact measures for affected areas

The International Association of Public Transport (IAPT) have provided a manifesto to recover the public transport system "Back to Better Mobility" following the effects of COVID-19. So far, IAPT have provided three components of their call to action which aims to put public transport at the heart of building resilient cities, combat climate change, encourage heathy living, and boost local economies:

• Breathe Better as "a future without public transport is a future without clean air"
• Move Better as "a future without public transport is a future without free movement"
• Work Better as "a future without public transport will only damage the economy further"

Legionella is a type of bacteria that can become a health concern when found in man-made water systems. While buildings remain closed due to the pandemic, it is important that water systems are well maintained to prevent future health issues like Legionella. If breathed in through droplets in the air, the bacteria can cause Legionnaires' disease, a respiratory illness with some similar symptoms to COVID-19 e.g. a fever, cough, shortness of breath. The European Working Group for Legionella Infections (ESGLI) has put together a guidance document on how to best manage Legionella in building water systems during this COVID-19 outbreak. Consider ESGLI guidance to manage the safety of buildings' water systems:

https://www.rsph.org.uk/membership/webinars/how-to-ensure-your-building-water-system-is-safe-during-and-post-covid-19.html

Testing is considered critical to managing COVID-19, and mitigating the risk of diagnostic-supply shortages can help contain the virus and support efforts to scale testing. Diagnostic testing can confirm or determine the presence of disease in an individual suspected of having a disease. Continuing to identify those who are infected with COVID-19 remains important to treat and isolate them, and to enhance knowledge of the disease. Consider how to:

• Map available laboratory-testing capacity which can be underutilized e.g. laboratories around the USA have reported unused capacity which could be used to conduct more tests
• Maximize existing laboratory capacity by assessing: workflows; number of trained and personnel; compile a full inventory of equipment
• Partner with Universities and major diagnostic manufacturers e.g. to share equipment, research facilities, and trained personnel
• Using less resources through pooled testing of people for COVID-19 (The Manchester Briefing Week 17)

Researchers believe that the main threat to the blood supply is not COVID-19 itself, but the unintended consequences of social distancing on blood donations. This has resulted in uncertain patterns of demand for blood and reductions in donations. Consider:

• Monitoring the supply and demand in hospital based and transfusion services so sufficient blood stocks are maintained to support ongoing critical needs e.g. for major trauma
• Mitigating (theoretical) transmission of COVID-19 from asymptomatic individuals e.g.:
  • Persons donating blood must inform donation centres if they develop a respiratory illness within 14 days of the donation
  • Persons should refrain from donating blood if they have travelled to areas with high community transmission
  • Persons who have recovered from diagnosed COVID-19 should not donate blood for 14 days after full recovery
• How to mitigate staff and donor exposure to COVID-19 through appropriate PPE and sanitation
• How to mitigate donor decline through clear, proactive and consistent communication strategies to address and overcome donor anxiety which often stem from misinformation
• Systems to enable re-entry of COVID-19 infected donors to donation centres after full recovery

More information from the WHO can be found here.

Wastewater-based epidemiology groups in Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA have already reported detecting traces of COVID-19 in wastewater. Although COVID-19 is not known to infect humans through sewage or wastewater, similar diseases can, and so monitoring the behaviour of COVID-19 in these environments is important. Consider integrating sewer surveillance and wastewater inspections into systems for COVID-19 monitoring:

• Develop a 'dashboard' of data to assess the correlations between all collated COVD-19-related indicators as seen in the Netherlands
• Provide information on potential transmission pathways and improve the early warning of new outbreaks by understanding the relationships between: wastewater analysis, the number registered infected people, and societal or behavioural traits

The resilience of construction and infrastructure is highly dependent on reliable, flexible and sustainable supply chains. Learning from the impacts of COVID-19 has identified three key phases for building supply chain resilience. Consider how to:

Secure the supply chain - immediate steps

• Rapidly assess levels of inventory and resource capacity against immediate/emerging demand
• Analyse a range of tactical scenarios and secure essential resources needed to maintain operations
• Evaluate existing relevant contract clauses such as those covering insurances and payment

Recover the supply chain - steps to be taken next

• Refresh business continuity management plans e.g. tested home working, wellbeing protocols, emergency command/control structures

Prepare the supply chain for a post COVID-19 world

• Embed resilience e.g. Has risk increased? Is the supply chain intact?
• Build resilience through
  • keeping redundancy (e.g. increasing stocks, spare capacity, supply competition);
  • creating resistance (e.g. automation);
  • improving recovery (e.g. rapid response protocols)
• Map strategic supply chains to identify possible points of failure in future shocks e.g. an emergency or second wave
• Implement 'smart' forecasting, analytics, and cloud-based systems that provide advanced prediction and indicate disruption

A collaboration between primary, secondary and special schools in the UK has developed some examples from practice on how to maintain social distancing. These are not exhaustive and may be adapted and implemented alongside other protective measures in schools. Actions to consider:

For primary and secondary schools

• Stagger lunch and break times of students and, where possible, start and finish times
• Mark the playground in a way that allows for separate 'bubbles' of children to play and for staff to walk round the space safely
• Adjust seating plans to recognize that some children may have had low levels of engagement with others during lockdown and may need to sit nearer the teacher for further support
• Ensure specialist or support staff who may be at risk from COVID-19 can continue providing support e.g. install protective screens and allocate a specific classroom for that staff member
• Negotiate with transport companies to bring children to school in their specific COVID-19 groups (bubbles). This may be especially relevant for children from special schools who have additional health and safety needs

For special schools

• Ensure specialist staff and therapists have the resources to write their reports from home to limit staff meetings
• Find ways to integrate various therapies to limit the use of specialist rooms and facilities

The transfer of diseases such as COVID-19, avian influenza and swine flu can occur in agriculture and food production sectors. This can be facilitated by the rapid industrialization of meat production and poor biosecurity. Consider:

• increased monitoring of agricultural production as 'big farms create big flu'
• careful monitoring of wild animal sales; simply banning such practices may only drive markets underground and reduce visibility
• disease mitigation measures on farming practices of vulnerable populations. In the avian influenza outbreak, poultry from 'backyard chicken' producers were slaughtered compulsorily in huge numbers which caused devastating impacts on livelihoods across southeast Asia
• affordable measures for smaller farmers to meet food and agricultural standards, and consideration that if you remove their livelihoods, they will likely become more susceptible to current disease or new zoonotic diseases as a result of wild animal sale or consumption

Clean energy can reduce negative health effects associated with using polluting fuels and the chances of respiratory diseases which negatively impact COVID-19 chances of survival. Consider:

• how to improve access to electricity through renewable energy
• providing electricity for water pumps for more reliable access to clean water in contexts where this is challenging
• incentivising renewable energy adoption at household level to help reduce the economic burden of utility bills which can have impacts on mental and physical wellbeing

The shock to global supply and demand resulting from COVID-19 has exacerbated workers' vulnerability to modern slavery. Consider supply chain management approaches that reduce the risks of worker exploitation by increasing firms' resilience to cope with highly volatile and extreme events, such as COVID 19. Consider:

• ensuring there is capacity to audit suppliers and their workforces to detect and remediate instances of labour exploitation
• how to maintain transparency in the supply chain so that risky supplier behaviour, such as unauthorised subcontracting, can be traced
• circumventing organisations with known malpractices in order to meet demand e.g. in the US, an import ban has been lifted to receive supply from a large Malaysian manufacturer of medical gloves accused of using forced labour
• liaising with support mechanisms for those at risk of modern slavery, such as faith and community organisations and helplines to monitor wellbeing
• collaborate with unions, NGOs, and other expert stakeholders to increase supply chain transparency and allow for a proactive detection on deteriorating working conditions

Addressing the equality of food systems can help support their resilience. Consider:

• Improving the local economy and the food system simultaneously by growing locally, and employing the local population
• Urban farms for local food production e.g. utilising school gardens
• Engaging neighbourhood leaders to improve understanding of who needs assistance
• Improving sustainability e.g. drive through markets to keep markets open during lockdowns and avoid waste from spoilage, as well as giving smaller sellers security in selling produce
• Enabling community food parcels to be ordered in a similar way to ordering food deliveries
• Improving the food sector workers' protection to help prevent COVID-19 infection
• Keeping school cafeterias open for collection of meals for vulnerable children

Closure of markets has meant many in the agricultural industries have required support in distributing their products. In Lyon, local government took the following actions:

• Identified producers in difficulty and their needs via the Chamber of Agriculture
• Coordinated digital platforms' connections with producers and consumers
• Mapped additional warehousing facilities to support storage of produce and preparation for market
• Provided specific open-air collection points to collect orders
• Researched other rapid distribution channels e.g. through the Red Cross
• Created additional sales outlets when markets were not viable

Globally, supply chains face challenges in responding to disruptions as a result of COVID-19. Consider:

• Contingency plans that adequately review project controls, risk management and governance processes to provide early warnings of risk impact e.g. a second wave of COVID-19, and the cost, time or contractual impacts of this
• How changes to demand, use and other consumer behaviours will place extra pressure on revenues
• How restrictions on people's movements impact productivity
• How alternative delivery methods and increased supply chain visibility can mitigate supply delays and expose key vulnerabilities
• How the use of advanced controls and technology can ensure more efficient use of resources and better decision-making
• Strategies for transparent communication with all stakeholders, including employees and every party along the supply chain. This can boost reputations, morale and trust among all stakeholders

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities of critical services and infrastructures. Electrical power systems have been severely affected by the pandemic, threatening not only their current functionality but also their longer-term resilience, reliability and sustainability. Consider:

• How to improve communication between core utility sectors such as water and energy sectors (including renewable energy). Often these sectors have been planned, operated and regulated in isolation which reduces overall resilience of the sector in an emergency
• How to ensure decarbonization of the electricity sector is adequately integrated into COVID-19 recovery strategies to support economic growth and jobs
• How to encourage a collective response from organizations and stakeholders across multiple sectors e.g. electricity generation, water management, finance and investment, agriculture etc to ensure the growth of low-carbon infrastructure to holistically address actions that reduce cascading climate risks

These concerns relate to opening infrastructure and maintaining infrastructure.

Opening infrastructure

• Schools - the reopening of schools is a hugely complex issue that requires consideration of health and safety, staffing, finances, building capacity and facilities. Reopening schools also has socioeconomic implications related to rights to education, safeguarding children, feasibility of adults to work and the economic impacts of this
• Public transport - reopening public transport services, increasing service capacity, and public trust in transport use is vital to keep cities and regions moving. Ensuring safe and sustainable mobility support local economies and the environment

Maintaining infrastructure

• Supply chains - special attention should be paid to the flexibility and resilience of supply chains as supply chain failures can have devastating impacts on capacity to respond and recover. Supply chains should be prepared for a second wave of the pandemic; critical and alternative suppliers should be identified so supply chains can be modified
• Internet access and cyber security - ensuring safe and secure connection and reliable internet access is crucial in keeping people, government and economies running. It also forms an important role in safe and trustworthy risk communication at all levels of society

TMB Issue 10 brings together the reflections of our learning from the first 10 weeks of gathering lessons on recovery and renewal from COVID-19. Follow the source link below to read all of the reflections from our team (p.9-15).

Consider:

• Ensuring equality of access to internet through roll out of fibre-optic cables for internet - evenly distributed throughout areas
• Supporting housing by restricting use of new housing for 'land banking' where property is bought as investment rather than as primary residence

Spontaneous supply chains (SSC) emerge during a crisis to meet unmet demand. They may fill a gap locally or nationally i.e. transformation in manufacturing and production. In the USA, Amish communities have shifted their production from woodwork and carpentry organised by men, to the production of facemasks by women. Women were sewing up to 50,000 face masks per day that met hospital sanctioned quality control. Consider:

• How SSC can be integrated into formal supply chains to ensure quality and efficiency
• How SSC can be integrated into local government efforts. Many SSCs are locally driven and so integration into existing local supply chains would increase their efficiency and effectiveness
• How to build firm-frim relations to support SSC integration e.g. building trust, developing contracts, designing management systems
• Opportunities for staying connected to local communities that have capacity to support

Consider opportunities to:

• Ensure public health measures (testing, contact tracing, etc.) are underpinned by action guaranteeing livelihoods and food security
• Facilitate collaboration between local governments, utility providers, and community groups to ensure affordable access to water and sanitation for all
• Raise awareness and behaviour change in informal settlements and slums through participation and community ownership of initiative
• Advocate for measures to reduce the burden of rent and mortgages, provide temporary shelter for the homeless, and repurpose buildings to isolate those infected
• Support local governments to manage safe urban mobility and transport, with a focus on those serving communities in informal settlements, while observing any movement restrictions

In Korea the following processes have been put in place for civil servants and these lessons could be expanded to other organisations:

Expand systems and optimizing resource

• Expanding the number of VPN licenses from 24,000 to 40,000, an increase of 16,000
• Optimizing load distribution methods to manage web server traffic
• Increasing the maximum network capacity (national information telecom networks and VPN broadband from 1G to 4G)

Support VPN use among employees working from home

• Distributing signup guidelines, user manuals, and FAQs
• Training for using VPN via video conference for workers, especially those in government institutions to improve security of sensitive information
• Workers who work from home have call centres available from 9 am to 6 pm (including at the weekend)

Monitor the daily system

• Monitoring trends in number of subscribers, usage traffic, simultaneous log-ins, and networks e.g. Personal Area Network (PAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) etc
• Monitoring heavy traffic hours with the highest number of people logged onto the internet simultaneously (between 8 am and 10 am)
• Focused monitoring every 10 minutes

There are lessons to learn from the 'stay at home' policies in relation to inequalities and vulnerabilities. Safe and adequate housing is a central facet of a population's wellbeing and health. Housing for recovery and renewal would benefit from framing as pivotal 'infrastructures of care' for surviving in the present and for reimaging the future. Consider how to create:

• Better living conditions for migrants and people in temporary housing as they are particularly vulnerable. Those living in temporary dwellings have often experienced conflict, disaster and economic hardship
• Comfortable housing at a time when staying at home is pivotal. Ensure additional support is provided to those renting and the homeless to mitigate evictions, overcrowding, unaffordability, and substandard conditions
• Improved urban resilience and physical and mental health through housing. In most cities, mental and physical illness and premature death are disproportionally concentrated in poor communities and ethnic minorities
• More energy efficient low-carbon, innovative and sustainable housing
• More equal financial mechanisms and markets for land and housing that recognises the interdependencies between housing production, land, infrastructure and labour markets
• Avoidances of potential pitfalls of rapid urbanisation which can exacerbate inequalities, segregation, resource depletion, ecological crisis, displacement and migration

In Korea, specific measures were taken to stabilise the supply of face masks in particular. The government developed an emergency joint meeting of relevant ministries and a joint inspection team to conduct daily inspections and to handle reports on unfair sales of masks.

• The Ministry of Economy and Finance set up its own taskforce, independent of the joint government inspection team, to inspect the mask supply chain
• The Ministry of Economy and Finance formed a 64-person taskforce within a day. They visited: manufacturing companies to listen to their difficulties; stores authorized to sell masks; factories, and the distribution hubs to inspect the situation on production and distribution, and difficulties in the supply and demand of raw materials
• The taskforce inspected 751 sites from February 28 to March 9, and allowed the onsite inputs to be appropriately reflected in policies which ultimately stabilised supply

The impact of school closures, especially nursery and primary schools, carries high social and economic costs as learning is interrupted, parents are unprepared for home schooling and for the impacts this has on childcare. Working parents may have no choice but to leave children alone when they have to work, or to miss work to take care of their children. This can impact child nutrition, social isolation and increase children's exposure to violence and exploitation. Schools in Denmark, China, Korea and Taiwan, have begun to open. In Korea, the government has incorporated the concept of digital classrooms into current educational legislation to develop a 'future-orientated' approach to online education.

A number of measures for adjusting the school day have been identified:

• Consider staggering the school day so children arrive in different time blocks. In Demark the start and end of the school day is split into three 15-minute windows, and the day finishes at 2pm to reduce risk of new rules feeling oppressive. This helps reduce crowding at the school gates
• Parents are not allowed inside the building and must collect their children at outside while observing social distancing rules- consider marking lines, and creating one-way systems for parents to collect children in playgrounds
• Consider rotating year groups into schools for a week at a time
• Consider changes to lesson delivery e.g. restrict movement of teachers one teacher per class. Consider how this may impact which classes teachers will need to deliver and how this can be effectively timetabled. Also consider making class sizes smaller by splitting classes in two and have taught rotas between staff
• Limit handling of children's books through increased self-marking activities
• Provide allocated desks to each child with social distancing requirements in place. Be pragmatic and realistic about how to ensure social distancing when children are not at their desks, e.g. how they will traverse corridors or stairways, how to manage behaviour at break times
• Consider reducing creative activities such as art, and 'carpet time' for primary school children. Or requesting personal supplies i.e. scissors or paintbrushes are brought in. Consider how creative classes can be taken outdoors to make learning fun, and safer
• Stagger lunch breaks and class times to avoid the risk of too many people moving through the school at one time

Alongside restructuring the school day, re-opening of schools requires attention to infrastructure. This may include:

• Installing additional handwashing facilities so children have to wash hands before entering school and then throughout the day - in Denmark children wash their hands six to eight times a day
• Measure temperatures before students are allowed on site. In China some schools have installed a system at the entrance of the school to record temperatures. Any person displaying a temperature above 37.3 degrees is taken for further temperature checks
• Installing hand sanitisation stations and bins for discarded masks in and around the school site. China also has isolation areas should anyone be taken ill during the course of the day
• Utilising additional buildings such as church halls or community centres if the school does not have the required space to maintain social distancing and its cohort of students
• Accounting for reduced workforce availability due to illness, and PPE requirements

There is an urgency to return pupils to schools to support their health and well-being and to relieve pressures on working families who may be experiencing increased financial hardship as a result of having children at home. It is important that robust scientific evidence is used to make such decisions; a study from Germany found children were as likely to spread coronavirus as adults which suggests caution is required. However, lessons from Denmark, China and Taiwan could provide useful insights into practical adaptation and innovation to support a safe return to school.

To read this case study in its original format with references etc., follow the source link to TMB Issue 7 p.16-17.

Consider measures to ensure safe return to social activities.

This should seek to maintain operations whilst minimising virus transmission. For example, operations in Paris:

• Wash and disinfect collection trucks every day
• Prioritise the collection of unauthorized garbage and street cleaning (using street washers and vacuum cleaners on pathways)
• Collect waste from streets e.g. each day ~1,000 municipal workers, ~250 garbage collection trucks, and ~100 road sweeping machines collect waste from the streets
• Clean ~140 public toilets in order to keep them open - thereby provide considerable health and dignity benefits to the most vulnerable. These facilities also have drinking water fountains
• Plan to manage the surge in the volume of waste when restaurants reopen (in Paris, the volume of daily waste has fallen by a third during closedown)

This includes considering:

• Investment opportunities that align with pre-existing policy initiatives e.g. investment in cycling infrastructure and extending bike hire agreements
• Community engagement to increase carbon neutral commuting e.g. encouraging the development of community groups organising carbon neutral commute
• Partnership opportunities to facilitate working from home e.g. collaborating with local businesses to arrange work from home days

This lesson was offered by a chif Resilience Officer in the Netherlands during project data collection.

Scammers impersonate government agencies providing information on COVID-19 through text messages and emails 'phishing' for your information. These contain malicious links and attachments designed to steal your personal and financial information. Provide examples of what to look for on a dedicate website such as: Scamwatch (https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/current-covid-19-coronavirus-scams).

Communicate tips to the public such as:

• Do not click on hyperlinks in text/social media messages or emails, even if it appears to come from a trusted source
• Go directly to the website through your browser. For example, to reach the MyGov website type 'my.gov.au' into your browser yourself
• Never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for personal or financial details, even if they claim to be a from a reputable organisation or government authority - just press delete or hang up