Smart Cities After Covid-19: Ten Narratives

The COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on cities and major lessons for urban planning, design, and management

“…Other governance-related issues such as the need to better consider urban-rural linkages in urban governance and the desirability of strengthening global networks of cities that can facilitate experience sharing and mutual support have also been noted in the literature ( Kunzmann, 2020 ; Connolly et al, 2020b ; Acuto, 2020 ; Rich, 2020 ). Regarding urban-rural relationships, it is needed to ensure that they are not exploitative and do not undermine the capacity of rural areas to deal with adverse events ( Rich, 2020 ).…”

“…Overall, the pandemic has declined the tax base of many cities, reducing their ability to implement urban development plans. As cities are expected to experience significant financial deficits, they may need to prioritize investments and postpone or cancel some plans that may deem less important (e.g., environmental and cultural) ( Kunzmann, 2020 ). This may, however, also encourage engagement in collaboration networks of cities ( Kunzmann, 2020 ).…”

“…As cities are expected to experience significant financial deficits, they may need to prioritize investments and postpone or cancel some plans that may deem less important (e.g., environmental and cultural) ( Kunzmann, 2020 ). This may, however, also encourage engagement in collaboration networks of cities ( Kunzmann, 2020 ). It is, however, too early to tell what the exact scale of economic losses in cities will be, and how they will respond to and adapt to those losses.…”

“…Regarding urban-rural relationships, it is needed to ensure that they are not exploitative and do not undermine the capacity of rural areas to deal with adverse events ( Rich, 2020 ). As for global collaboration, it is argued that the declined tax base of cities may encourage engagement in collaboration networks of cities ( Kunzmann, 2020 ). The existing experience of networks such as C40 Cities and the 100 Resilient Cities may provide good insights in this regard ( Acuto, 2020 ).…”

“…Unfolding amid these rapid advances, COVID-19 has provided a good opportunity to test the ability of smart solutions to solve major societal issues ( Kummitha, 2020 ). It has also provided additional momentum for smart city development, as evidenced by the increased reliance on teleworking, telemedicine, surveillance systems, and online commerce and education ( Kunzmann, 2020 ). It is, therefore, argued that COVID-19 is likely to boost smart city movements ( Kunzmann, 2020 ).…”