Journal - Special Issues

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL PREFACE - Urban E-Planning and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Public Health Response and Transformative Recovery

Carlos Nunes Silva (Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal)

To obtain a copy of the Editorial Preface, click on the link: www.igi-global.com/pdf.aspx?tid=262503&ptid=254338&ctid=15&t=Urban E-Planning and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Public Health Response and Transformative Recovery&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 1

Successful Government Responses to the Pandemic: Contextualizing National and Urban Responses to the COVID-19 Outbreak in East and West

Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko (Tampere University, Finland)

This article discusses national and local strategies for confronting COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis sheds light on how societal context, institutional arrangements, knowledge culture, and technology deployment manifest in national responses to the pandemic. Discussion describes country cases from East and South East Asia, on the one hand, and from Europe and Asia-Pacific, on the other. The overall impression is that Asian cases reflect proactivity and diligence, while Western responses are reactive and more often than not slightly delayed. Both country groups include successes, while the overwhelming majority of global benchmarks are Asian. As the management of COVID-19 crisis is essentially a multi-level governance issue, discussion about national strategies is supplemented with a glance at the role of cities. The COVID-19-related urban challenges revolve around increased interest in urban safety, creative approaches to and the uses of urban space, the rise of digital urban platforms, and deeper insights on citizen engagement.

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www.igi-global.com/article/successful-government-responses-to-the-pandemic/262504

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262504&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 2

Building Resilient, Smart Communities in a Post-COVID Era: Insights From Ireland

Aoife Doyle (Future Analytics Consulting Ltd., Ireland), William Hynes (Future Analytics Consulting Ltd., Ireland), Stephen M. Purcell (Future Analytics Consulting Ltd., Ireland)

The COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly throughout the world in early 2020. Beyond the substantial health impacts, the crisis has served as a catalyst for a dramatic shift in working practices, a greater reliance on technology, and a subsequent reduction in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the most heavily populated parts of the planet. Indeed, the crisis has highlighted the interconnected nature of society's vulnerabilities while also demonstrating that transformational change is possible. These rapid changes have ignited debate around how to build more resilient societies and the role of planning in promoting equitable and sustainable recovery. This article presents key insights from Ireland, as policymakers grapple with these questions and the role of technology in ensuring ongoing delivery of services and a continuation of democratic processes. Specifically, this short article focuses on the impact of the pandemic on town centres and regional growth in Ireland and the potential interventions which can aid in addressing recently intensified local challenges.

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www.igi-global.com/article/building-resilient-smart-communities-in-a-post-covid-era/262505

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262505&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 3

Surveillance in the COVID-19 Normal: Tracking, Tracing, and Snooping – Trade-Offs in Safety and Autonomy in the E-City

Michael K. McCall (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico), Margaret M. Skutsch (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico), Jordi Honey-Roses (University of British Columbia, Canada)

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of surveillance technologies in cities around the world. The new surveillance systems are unfolding at unprecedented speed and scale in response to the fears of COVID-19, yet with little discussion about long-term consequences or implications. The authors approach the drivers and procedures for COVID-19 surveillance, addressing a particular focus to close-circuit television (CCTV) and tracking apps. This paper describes the technologies, how they are used, what they are capable of, the reasons why one should be concerned, and how citizens may respond. No commentary should downplay the seriousness of the current pandemic crisis, but one must consider the immediate and longer-term threats of insinuated enhanced surveillance, and look to how surveillance could be managed in a more cooperative social future.

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www.igi-global.com/article/surveillance-in-the-covid-19-normal/262506

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262506&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 4

COVID-19 Contact Tracing: From Local to Global and Back Again

Teresa Scassa (University of Ottawa, Canada)

This article surveys the rise of contact tracing technologies during theCOVID-19 pandemic and some of the privacy, ethical, and human rights issues they raise. It examines the relationship of these technologies to local public health initiatives, and how the privacy debate over these apps made the technology in some cases less responsive to public health agency needs. The article suggests that as countries enter the return to normal phase, the more important and more invasive contact tracing and disease surveillance technologies will be deployed at the local level in the context of employment, transit, retail services, and other activities. The smart city may be co-opted for COVID-19 surveillance, and individuals will experience tracking and monitoring as they go to work, shop, dine, and commute. The author questions whether the attention given to national contact tracing apps has overshadowed more local contexts where privacy, ethical, and human rights issues remain deeply important but relatively unexamined. This raises issues for city local governance and urban e-planning.

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www.igi-global.com/article/covid-19-contact-tracing/262507

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262507&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 5

Pandemic-Driven Technology Adoption: Public Decision Makers Need to Tread Cautiously

Pamela Robinson (Ryerson University, Canada), Peter A. Johnson (University of Waterloo, Canada)

During the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, around the world, evidence is mounting as to the unenveness of impacts across communities. Thereare disproportionately more impacts on people who are elderly, economically marginalized, immunologically compromised, and members of racialized and equity-seeking communities. As part of the COVID-19 response, virus transmission mitigation efforts including the use of new technology tools like contract tracing apps are being explored. There are significant implications to the use of these tools, including how they impact different community members and exacerbate digital divide, exclusion, and surveillance issues. This article brings forward a citizen participation framework that is instructive for decision-makers charged with pandemic-driven technology adoption.

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www.igi-global.com/article/pandemic-driven-technology-adoption/262508

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262508&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 6

Changing Mobility Lifestyle: A Case Study on the Impact of COVID-19 Using Personal Google Locations Data

Vít Pászto (Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic & Moravian Business College Olomouc, Czech Republic), Jaroslav Burian (Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic & Moravian Business College Olomouc, Czech Republic), Karel Macků (Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic)

The article is focused on a detailed micro-study describing changes in the behaviour of the authors in three months before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is based on data from Google Location Service. Despite the fact it evaluates only three people and the study cannot be sufficiently representative, it is a unique example of possible data processing at such a level of accuracy. The most significant changes in the behaviour of authors before and during the COVID-19 quarantine are described and interpreted in detail. Another purpose of the article is to point out the possibilities of analytical processing of Google Location while being aware of personal data protection issues. The authors recognize that by visualizing the real motion data, one partially discloses their privacy, but one considers it very valuable to show how detailed data Google collects about the population and how such data can be used effectively.

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www.igi-global.com/article/changing-mobility-lifestyle/262509

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262509&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 7

Smart Technologies, Back-to-the-Village Rhetoric, and Tactical Urbanism: Post-COVID Planning Scenarios in Italy

Teresa Graziano (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Italy)

This viewpoint article is aimed at critically scrutinizing both institutional and bottom-up narratives about post-COVID planning scenarios in Italy. Through a critical multimedia discourse analysis, the article tries to deconstruct the most recurring narratives about the future of cities in Italy, particularly those interlacing smart city rhetoric with alternative models of settlements and “soft” planning micro-actions, in order to highlight both conflictual perspectives and new potential paths to follow for a more inclusive tech-led urban development.

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www.igi-global.com/article/smart-technologies-back-to-the-village-rhetoric-and-tactical-urbanism/262510

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262510&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 8

Exploring the Smart Future of Participation: Community, Inclusivity, and People With Disabilities

John Bricout (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, USA), Paul M. A. Baker (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA), Nathan W. Moon (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA), Bonita Sharma (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA)

COVID-19 is having an enormous impact on civic life, including public services, governance, and the well-being of citizens. The pace and scope of technology as a force for problem solving, connecting people, sharing information, and organizing civic life has increased in the wake of COVID-19. This article critically reviews how technology use influences the civic engagement potential of the smart city, in particular for people with disabilities. The article aims to articulate new challenges to virtual participation in civic life in terms of accessibility, usability, and equity. Next, the article proposes a framework for a smart participation future involving smarter communities that utilize universal design, blended bottom-up, and virtual community of practice (VCoP) approaches to planning and connecting citizens with disabilities to smart cities. Policy and ethical implications of the proposed smart participation future are considered.

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www.igi-global.com/article/exploring-the-smart-future-of-participation/262511

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262511&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 9

Technology Use by Urban Local Bodies in India to Combat the COVID-19 Pandemic

Falguni Mukherjee (Sam Houston State University, USA)

This article provides a comprehensive review of the use of information and communication technologies by urban local bodies in India in their war against the COVID-19 pandemic based on a detailed survey conducted during the pandemic period. India reported its first case of COVID-19 in late January, and government authorities have been on a war footing since then to curb the spread of the virus. Following a tradition that has been instilled within government agencies since the Modi government came into power in 2014, local, state, and central government agencies turned to a widespread use of geospatial, surveillance and information and communication technologies as part of a strategy to monitor and track movement, manage individuals, and enforce quarantine norms. However, several important questions arise from the blind use of technology that remain unanswered. The use of technology by government agencies raise key questions on privacy, civil liberties, and suitability and viability of their use.

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www.igi-global.com/article/technology-use-by-urban-local-bodies-in-india-to-combat-the-covid-19-pandemic/262512

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262512&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 10

Communicative Governance to Mitigate the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Delhi, India

Nidhi Vij Mali (University of Mississippi, USA), Srinivas Yerramsetti (Independent researcher), Aroon P. Manoharan (University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA)

Emerging democracies are handicapped by systemic weaknesses such as inadequate healthcare safety nets, weak administrative capacities, and rigidly hierarchical bureaucracies and conflicts between levels of political leadership. The COVID-19 pandemic creates an urgent need for governments to overcome these structural limitations and facilitate responsive governance. This article uses the lens of communicative governance to describe how governments respond to the emerging health emergency and its challenges. It uses the case of the state of Delhi in India to analyze how the tools of government were operated to govern during the early stages of an escalating health crisis. It documents the unique policy and administrative practices that are driving the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the global South. In doing so, it points to the ways in which urban e-planning can foster transformative capacities to support local communities.

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www.igi-global.com/article/communicative-governance-to-mitigate-the-covid-19-pandemic/262513

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262513&isxn=9781799862536

ARTICLE 11

Recombining Place: COVID-19 and Community Action Networks in South Africa

Nancy Odendaal (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

The lockdown response taken by many governments in flattening the curve of coronavirus infections has of course increased the reliance on digital tools to enable work (for those able to do so) and social interaction. There are emergent, somewhat contingent, and coproductive dynamics at work between platforms and urban life and space with the contextual specificities of each, no doubt, leading to different ICT-informed solutions. In South Africa, the state has taken a phased but stronghold approach with unfortunate impacts on livelihoods and food security, especially those in the informal economy and those with part-time or insecure employment. The community action network (CAN) initiative started as a means to enable neighbourhood assistance through WhatsApp groups in Cape Town. In this article, the author reflects on how this initiative reflects the early hopes of William Mitchell (and others) that saw the potential for informational spaces to become more democratic as interfaces of connection. In Cape Town, one may see Mitchell's vision fulfilled.

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www.igi-global.com/article/recombining-place/262514

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www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=262514&isxn=9781799862536