Webinar: The New Urban Normal - Perspectives from the Global South

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several systemic failures and injustices in the way cities are planned and designed around the world, not least connected to the capacity of societies to withstand systemic shocks. Housing, for instance, has come to the top of the agenda once again, now propelled by the realisation that slums dwellers (1 billion people around the world) and homeless people are particularly vulnerable to health crises. Inequality is particularly harmful, because while the very poor are most vulnerable to societal disarray, the interconnectedness of our societies mean that we are all equally affected by those system shocks.

This event by the Global Urban Lab in partnership with UN-Habitat and the World Urban Campaign gave a voice to young scholars from the Global South giving an account on the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their cities and regions, with a focus on innovative responses from civil society and governments. It aimed at discussing the underlying issues of urban development made explicit by the pandemic and to reflect on the long-term impacts of the pandemic, including the possibility to “build back better” while addressing other emergencies such as climate change, growing inequality, and democratic erosion.

For more information and to watch the recording of this webinar, please click here.