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

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.

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)

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

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

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.

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

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

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

These should be disseminated to workers and to the public to protect people as many services go online. Consider:

1. Using an updated firewall to provide barriers between data and cyberattacks; this should be done at organisational and personal levels
2. Documenting and sharing cybersecurity policies including training, checklists and organisation-specific information
3. Planning security for mobile devices include wearable technology which can include personal information. Ensure security updates and password policies are in place to any mobile device accessing the network.
4. Providing training and education for all employees on risks and how to identify malicious activity i.e. phishing emails
5. Regularly updating employees on protocols and security policy
6. Encouraging changing of passwords every 60-90 days, and the use of complex passwords with combinations of uppercase letters, numbers and symbols
7. Regularly backing up all data and checking the function
8. Installing anti-malware software to mitigate phishing emails
9. Using multifactor identification and virtual private networks (VPNs) to provide an extra layer of protection

Software and cyber experts can only do so much. Informed workers remain the best line of defence, and can ensure the resilience and safety of technical systems for recovery.