New York: A new report on pandemics and cities from UN-Habitat, points the way to how hard-hit urban centres can reduce the impact of future outbreaks and become more equitable, healthy and environmentally friendly.
Cities and Pandemics: Towards a more just, green and healthy future, launched on Tuesday, describes how urban areas have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis.
"95 % of all cases"wererecorded in cities in the first monthsof the pandemic, UN-Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif said.
"Throughout this pandemic, it has been up to local governments and communities to move quickly and decisively to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure an effective response,"Sharif added.
Despite these pressures, many local governments and community leaders responded quickly and effectively to prevent the spread of the pandemic and mitigate its effects.
The UN-Habitat reportrecommendsactions for a sustainable recoverybased onevidence frommore than 1,700 cities.
It found that patterns of inequality,due toalack of access to basic services, poverty and overcrowded living conditions, have been key destabilising factors in increasing the scale and impact of COVID-19.
The report explores how well-planned cities combining residential and commercial with public spaces, along with affordable housing, can improve public health, the local economy and the environment.
It calls for cities to be at the forefront of moves towards a Social Contract between governments, the public, civil society and private sector.
The Report outlines how a new normal can emerge in cities"where health, housing and security are prioritised for the most vulnerable, not only out of social necessity, but also from a profound commitment to human rights for all."
This requires governments to focus on policies to protect land rights, improve access to water, sanitation, public transport, electricity, health and education facilities and ensure inclusive digital connectivity.
The Cities and Pandemics Report makes it clear that the way urban environments recover from the pandemic, will have a major impact on the global effort to achieve a sustainable future for all.
