Post-Pandemic Cities: Designing for Health and Wellbeing

The pandemic has profoundly changed the ways we relate to one another. It has also transformed how and why we interact with places we live, work and play. Pre-pandemic, a renewed interest in how cities can be good for us, and support our health and wellbeing, was gaining significant momentum. The pandemic, however, has sharpened existing health and social inequalities in many contexts. It has also thrown novel factors into how we assess our health and wellbeing in relation to our environment. Now, we must ask – what is the future for cities? Specifically, what is wellbeing and how does it fit within the ‘new normal’ of cities emerging from the pandemic? As society reassembles, it is imperative to ask who is the post-pandemic city for and how do we ensure the right to it in an inclusive and equitable manner? If we are to develop convivial, ethical, sustainable and resilient post-pandemic cities for present and future generations, then what is the role of design education, professions and the public in this dynamic evolution?