COVID-19 Spatial Policy: A Comparative Review of Urban Policies in the European Union and the Middle East

Śleszyński, Przemysław; Khavarian-Garmsir, Amir Reza; Nowak, Maciej J.; Legutko-Kobus, Paulina; Abadi, Mohammad Hajian Hossein; Nasiri, Noura Al

doi:10.3390/su15032286

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…The transformation of cities towards ensuring that residents have access to appropriately landscaped green spaces (enhancing their areas, accurate smart spatial layout, generic structure, etc.) [13,62,63] fits in with long-term measures of strategic importance (coping strategies) for city resilience, determined by the term re-construction. In the context of stress, greenery serves preventive (enhancing physiological resilience), reducing (reduction in the stress level among urban dwellers) and regenerative (effective and fast post-stress recovery) functions (Figure 1).…”

Section: The Role Of Greenery In Reducing Stress Among Urban Dwellersmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: The Role Of Greenery In Reducing Stress Among Urban Dwellersmentioning

confidence: 82%

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The Role of Greenery in Stress Reduction among City Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mierzejewska

Sikorska-Podyma

Szejnfeld

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Cities, as places of social interactions and human relationships, face new challenges, problems, and threats, which are sources of stress for residents. An additional cause of stress in recent years has been the COVID-19 pandemic; it was urban dwellers who were most exposed to the virus and most affected by it. Chronic stress has led to the serious erosion of physical health and psychophysical well-being among urban dwellers, and so there is a need to seek new solutions in terms of building the resilience of cities and their residents to stress. This study aims to verify the hypothesis that greenery reduced the level of stress among urban dwellers during the pandemic. The verification of this hypothesis was achieved based on a literature analysis and the results of geo-questionnaire studies conducted involving 651 residents of Poznan—among the largest of Polish cities, where the share of green areas in the spatial structure is more than 30%. According to the analysis, the interviewees experienced above-average stress levels that went up during the pandemic, and the source was not so much the virus but the restrictions imposed. Green areas and outdoor activities helped in reducing this stress (being surrounded by and looking at greenery, garden work, or plant cultivation). Residents perceive a post-pandemic city as one that is more green, in which priority is given to unmanaged green areas. It has also been pointed out that a response to the reported need for urban re-construction towards stress resilience may be a biophilic city.

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Section: The Role Of Greenery In Reducing Stress Among Urban Dwellersmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: The Role Of Greenery In Reducing Stress Among Urban Dwellersmentioning

confidence: 82%

The Role of Greenery in Stress Reduction among City Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mierzejewska

Sikorska-Podyma

Szejnfeld

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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“…After all, spatial planning cannot be seen simply as defining development guidelines. It is also the spatial planning instruments that should contain an adequate response to climate challenges [16] or challenges of redefining post-pandemic urban policies [17][18][19][20]. However, in order to be able to adequately address the issues identified, it seems necessary to develop an appropriate approach at a national level.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Planning at the National Level: Comparison of Legal and Strategic Instruments in a Case Study of Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland

Nowak

Pantyley

Blaszke

et al. 2023

Land

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Comparisons of spatial planning systems still require in-depth reflection, especially in Central and Eastern European countries. This article compares national (central) government approaches to spatial planning in Belarus, Ukraine and Poland, answering the following research questions: (1) How are spatial planning issues regulated nationally? Which topics do laws focus on? What values and objectives are laws particularly emphasizing? (2) Are there any central/national strategic documents dealing with spatial planning, and which spatial issues do they address mostly? The article covers two key issues: comparing national approaches to spatial planning systems and comparing spatial planning issues in the three countries. We focus on statutory approaches and those contained in central-level strategic acts. In each country, spatial planning issues are covered by numerous laws, generating confusion when interpreting individual provisions. Our study makes an important, innovative contribution to the academic discussion by proposing a way of comparing and analyzing approaches of national authorities to spatial planning.

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How to Create Healthy, Stress-Resilient Post-Pandemic Cities

Wdowicka,

Mierzejewska,

Szejnfeld

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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This article analyzes the correlation between the city size, population density and character of three Polish cities and the following aspects: (1) inhabitants’ subjective stress level and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) sources and effects of their stress during the pandemic, (3) ways of reducing stress by residents and the role of greenery in this respect and (4) directions of changes in the structure of post-pandemic cities desired by their residents. The main research method was geo-surveys, the results of which were developed using statistical analysis and GIS methods. On the basis of the constructed scale, respondents subjectively assessed the level of experienced stress and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research shows that none of the considered features of cities (including size measured by the number of inhabitants) are related to the level of pandemic stress of their inhabitants. All of them, on the other hand, are correlated with the directions of urban spatial development desired by the residents, conducive to stress reduction. Furthermore, the size of the city and its character affect the subjectively perceived change in stress levels during the pandemic (compared to the stress level before pandemic). Some of the effects of pandemic stress and ways of reducing it depend on the character of the city. The stress experienced by the inhabitants is the lowest in cities with the largest share of green areas in the spatial structure (especially with forest complexes and naturally shaped areas of river valleys), where an effective system of greenery has been adopted (the Howard’s garden city model), and at the same time with dominant single-family housing. The research results were used to indicate new directions for shaping post-pandemic cities that are more resistant to stress and thus healthier for their residents.

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COVID-19 Spatial Policy: A Comparative Review of Urban Policies in the European Union and the Middle East

Cited by 5 publications

References 81 publications

The Role of Greenery in Stress Reduction among City Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Role of Greenery in Stress Reduction among City Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Spatial Planning at the National Level: Comparison of Legal and Strategic Instruments in a Case Study of Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland

How to Create Healthy, Stress-Resilient Post-Pandemic Cities

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