Author | Arantxa HerranzThroughout History, cities have had to deal with other pandemics and, in some cases, these situations have led to new ways of designing cities. Outbreaks of cholera, for example, in the 19th century led to the development of new sewage systems.But cities were not designed for a pandemic, but rather for the frenetic pace of life that we are used to. Interconnected with one another, cities accommodate millions of workers, getting about using diverse methods of transport, coexisting with tourists and enjoying their bars, restaurants and other leisure centers. Social distancing may therefore be much more complicated in major cities than in rural areas.In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on cities, according to the World Health Organization. A cursory glance at their traffic makes the situation abundantly evident.
Now that we are dealing with Covid-19, the time has come time for cities to act and to ask themselves how they can improve their design in order to be prepared for new pandemics.A crisis requiring new technologies
For some time now, new technologies have also been used to study certain diseases, to better understand the spread, behavior and transmission of these diseases. Anonymized mobile phone data has proved to be a very effective instrument in controlling them. With COVID-19, these systems have gone one step further with tracking, tracing and alerting of possible infections.