COVID-19 Response Analysis - Building Back Better in the Built Environment

On the 31st of December 2019, an online media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission of a “viral pneumonia of unknown cause” marked the first incidence of what we are now all familiar with as the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 For many, COVID-19 has been the first time experiencing a pandemic, however, this is not the first time a disease has wreaked havoc on the world. More than 60% of emerging infectious diseases identified since 1940 originate from zoonosis (infection or disease that is transmissible between animals and humans) with a majority of those linked to wildlife. While virologic mechanisms are not fully understood – it is evident that our built environment together with social and cultural factors have a considerable influence on epidemics. This paper unpacks a recent study conducted by the Royal Danish Academy and Realdania in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study set out to map and document interventions in the built environment which successfully responded to the pandemic, whilst simultaneously demonstrating how ingenuity can turn mitigation into an inspiration for building smarter and better.