Impact of Covid-19 on the built environment

Abstract

Purpose – This literature review paper aims to discuss the impacts and measures taken on Covid-19 with respect to architecture, built form and its allied fields along with observations from around the world with the end results of its implementation. Design/methodology/approach – Various research journals from Science Direct and Taylor and Francis among others were referred and reviewed to learn more on Covid-19 along with its impacts on people and their built environment. Keywords that aligned with the topic of interest like pandemic, Covid-19, coronavirus, urban spaces, built environment and built-up space were identified. Research papers that aligned with the scope of the paper and its keywords were found. An excel sheet with the basic data of these papers was written down. The essence of each of these articles were understood and linked with the topic in hand. A review of all these papers was written coherently to the topic. Future scope in this field of study was also identified. Findings – It discusses the various measures taken around the world in built-up spaces along with the various measures given by researchers, architects and urban planners to mitigate and reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in the built environment and urban spaces. The discussed measures along with observations from around the world have also been discussed with its end results. Discussions and conclusions on these design strategies and recommendations are made with the anticipation of a paradigm shift due to post-pandemic changes. Current scenarios of public spaces in densely populated countries are discussed. Future scope in this ongoing field of study includes measures that can be taken in specific to some particular built-up typologies like markets, theaters, parks, bazaars, etc. Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this study is the restricting of the study of Covid-19 to only architectural, urban and public realm scales. The study does not facilitate the involvement of other fields and their influence with Covid-19. Originality/value – This paper has been completely written by the author and the co-authors and has not been copied from any other sources.

Keywords

• Built environment
• Built-up space
• Coronavirus
• Covid-19
• Pandemic
• Urban spaces