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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Attempts to quarantine and sanitise informal settlements at the time of the 2014 Ebola crisis ended with mixed, if not poor results, along with violence and revolts due to poor preparation, planning and information sharing with the population. Consideration of these issues during a global pandemic is important to mitigate the risk of resurgence

Singapore's recent spike in COVID-19 cases is an example of this issue; the spike originated from the country's vast migrant worker population who live in poor conditions in crowded dormitories. Workers have been quarantined in their small, over-populated rooms for two weeks. It will be important to consider health and well-being and the potential for unrest in these contexts.