Chronicles from the new normal: Urban planning, mobility and land-use management in the face of the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

The world is facing new challenges due to the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2) virus outbreak identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The aim of this paper is to investigate and discuss how cities are being managed in the anti-pandemic “new normal”. And this in light of unexpected phenomena such as: the on-going modal shift from public transport to private modes vs the new momentum gained by walking, and social lifestyles dictated by confinement first and now by unregulated behavior, also affecting land use. Add to this unpreparedness of pre-pandemic transport policies and the new emerging opportunities; the fresh directions for research and development, for example in the field of urban mobility management. With the additional goal to contribute to further advance the research, the paper also clearly shows that the crisis can be overcome only by considering different fields of action and by considering our common past.

Keywords

• Mobility
• Transport
• Cities
• Streetscape
• Pandemic
• COVID-19