Towards building resilient cities to pandemics: A review of COVID-19 literature

With the global prevalence of COVID-19 disease, the concept of urban resilience against pandemics has drawn the attention of a wide range of researchers, urban planners, and policymakers. This study aims to identify the major dimensions and principles of urban resilience to pandemics through a systematic review focused on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and comparing different perspectives regarding resilient urban environ-ments to such diseases. Based on the findings, the study proposes a conceptual framework and a series of principles of urban resilience to pandemics, consisting of four spatial levels: housing, neighborhoods, city, and the regional and national scales, and three dimensions of pandemic resilience: pandemic-related health re-quirements, environmental psychological principles, and general resilience principles. The findings show that resilient cities should be able to implement the pandemic-related health requirements, the psychological prin-ciples of the environment to reduce the stresses caused by the pandemic, and the general principles of resilience in the smart city context. This framework provides scholars and policymakers with a comprehensive under-standing of resilience on different scales and assists them in making better-informed decisions.

Automated summary

With the global prevalence of COVID-19, the concept of urban resilience against pandemics has gained significant attention. This study aims to identify the dimensions and principles of urban resilience by reviewing the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings propose a conceptual framework and principles for urban resilience at different spatial levels, highlighting the importance of health requirements, environmental psychology, and general resilience principles.