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Accepted Paper:
Has there been an urban-bias in the directions and functions of knowledge production during COVID-19?
Carla-Leanne Washbourne
(University College London)
Paper short abstract:
This presentation explores COVID-19-relevant knowledge production across urban and rural contexts and unpacks the pros and cons of centring resources, processes and institutions for knowledge production, synthesis and application in urban settings for future social and environmental challenges.
Paper long abstract:
As the world becomes more urbanised and global cities grow in size and complexity, they become concentrators of triumphs and tragedies for the human and non-human world. It is perhaps then inevitable that COVID-19 has been viewed by many as a particularly 'urban' challenge. COVID-19 has caused widespread disruption, loss and damage as the first fully global modern pandemic. Its spread was strongly enabled by our dense and highly interconnected urban environments, transmitting the virus rapidly through and between cities with the everyday flow of human and animal transit. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged COVID-19 as a "deeply urban crisis" and academics and practitioners have contemplated that the virus presents a "challenge to the nature of cities themselves" (Acuto and Hill 2021).
Knowledge production processes which were ramped up to support rapid response and decision-making appear to have taken a strongly urban focus, reflecting the increasing dominance of urban concerns in global governance and the appreciable need for urban interventions to control the pandemic. What does this mean for our ability to understand and engage with issues experienced in non-urban settings? Urban areas constitute a very small proportion of global land area and many people still live in peri-urban or rural areas. This presentation reflects on the balance of COVID-19-relevant knowledge production across urban and rural contexts and unpacks the pros and cons of centring resources, processes and institutions for knowledge production, synthesis and application in the urban setting in light of future social and environmental challenges.
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Accepted Paper:
Paper short abstract:
Paper long abstract:
As the world becomes more urbanised and global cities grow in size and complexity, they become concentrators of triumphs and tragedies for the human and non-human world. It is perhaps then inevitable that COVID-19 has been viewed by many as a particularly 'urban' challenge. COVID-19 has caused widespread disruption, loss and damage as the first fully global modern pandemic. Its spread was strongly enabled by our dense and highly interconnected urban environments, transmitting the virus rapidly through and between cities with the everyday flow of human and animal transit. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged COVID-19 as a "deeply urban crisis" and academics and practitioners have contemplated that the virus presents a "challenge to the nature of cities themselves" (Acuto and Hill 2021).
Knowledge production processes which were ramped up to support rapid response and decision-making appear to have taken a strongly urban focus, reflecting the increasing dominance of urban concerns in global governance and the appreciable need for urban interventions to control the pandemic. What does this mean for our ability to understand and engage with issues experienced in non-urban settings? Urban areas constitute a very small proportion of global land area and many people still live in peri-urban or rural areas. This presentation reflects on the balance of COVID-19-relevant knowledge production across urban and rural contexts and unpacks the pros and cons of centring resources, processes and institutions for knowledge production, synthesis and application in the urban setting in light of future social and environmental challenges.
Urban-centric innovation ecosystems and sustainable development: views from COVID-19 and beyond
Session 1 Friday 8 July, 2022, -