Urban Pandemic Vulnerability and COVID-19

A New Framework to Assess the Impacts of Global Pandemics in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam

Journal Article (2022)
Authors

Y Wang (Arcplus)

Rodrigo V. Cardoso (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)

Claudiu Forgaci (TU Delft - Urban Design)

Research Group
Urban Design
Copyright
© 2022 Y. Wang, Rodrigo Viseu Cardoso, C. Forgaci
To reference this document use:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074284
More Info
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Publication Year
2022
Language
English
Copyright
© 2022 Y. Wang, Rodrigo Viseu Cardoso, C. Forgaci
Research Group
Urban Design
Issue number
7
Volume number
14
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074284
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Abstract

This paper presents the concept of urban pandemic vulnerability as a crucial framework for understanding how COVID-19 affects cities and how they react to pandemics. We adapted existing social and environmental urban vulnerability frameworks to assess pandemic impacts and responses, identifying the appropriate components and spatial, environmental and socio-demographic variables of interest. Pandemic vulnerability depends on exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity features, which occur in different combinations in different parts of a city. The model was applied to the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam (MRA) to create a map of pandemic vulnerability. This map differentiates between affected areas according to the types of vulnerability they experience, and it accurately identified the most vulnerable areas in line with real-world data. The findings contribute to clarifying the challenges brought by COVID-19, identifying vulnerability thresholds and guiding planning towards pandemic resilience