Abstract

Chapter
First Online: 04 May 2022
Part of the Local and Urban Governance book series (LUG)

Abstract

The impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on urban environments and the daily lives of their inhabitants are still unfolding. The spread of the virus in the urban system has affected a range of linked areas. Policy responses such as quarantines and lockdown have transformed access to essential services, information, means of livelihood, and transport, and the concept of public health is emerging as an important facet of urban governance. Society needs an urban governance framework that addresses the fragility of health systems and avoids improvization in decision-making. The limited capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in cities results from the neglect of public health issues by both governments and communities.

This chapter assesses the role of urban planning, policy , and participation in achieving public health goals. Using case studies and data, we also analyze how, with the emergence of COVID-19, governments and communities have had to connect the rights and responsibilities related to public health with the exercise of, and guarantee to, the right to the city. The authors posit that public health is currently driving local governance. One of the findings is that public decisions on health matters, which are meant to guarantee the health of all citizens, are made in an ad hoc manner. Additionally, the authors found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, health has motivated and guided decisions on urban management. Decisions are often informed by the results of epidemiological surveillance such as mobility models, the prominent role of information communication and technology as the means to provide and access services in the improvement of housing, public space, and sanitation, including in the models of production and urban work. We provide recommendations on how public health could effectively support urban governance for a resilient society.

Cite this chapter
del Pilar Tellez Soler, M., Sietchiping, R. (2022). Renaissance of Public Health as a Determining Factor of Urban Governance. In: Nunes Silva, C. (eds) Local Government and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Local and Urban Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91112-6_2

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