Interesting question, which could also be formulated the other way round. Spatial planning is very much a development in historical, present and future perspective. Like the creation of the city’s sewer system was a response on the London’s cholera outbreaks of the mid-19th century. Not only it involved a network of underground drains but also the construction of the Thames embankments. Currently there is a lot of attention for creating green spaces, that will reshape our cities after the lockdown.

https://www.researchgate.net/project/CATCH-Interreg-North-Sea-Region-Climate-Resilient-Cities/update/5edde84539f1f30001625313

You can view this link

https://www.researchgate.net/deref/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.who.int%2Fpublications%2Fi%2Fitem%2Fstrategic-preparedness-and-response-plan-for-the-new-coronavirus

@ Ijaz Durrani very good report and very good paper to read but then as you know these are not applicable everywhere, what I am looking for is more in what @ Nanco Dolman mentioned. I try to say the spatial notion of COVID-19 is beyond the physical lockdown we need more spatial thinking as "an effective way of thinking". COVID-19 has strong spatial mood I think we need to conduct our discussion to that side before we more to policy we identify which technics and approaches are able to provide us clear "spatial thinking or thinking spatially"

Proper landuse planning, education of residents in urban planning will increase the awareness of local governments, municipalities, residents on proper preparedness and responsiveness to COVID-19 to achieve sustainable urban development and good governance.

The health emergency, which has hit the world population in recent months, has produced significant changes in everyone's lifestyles by rewriting many of the behavioral rules that govern social relations. This has produced significant consequences especially where the possibility of establishing interactions has a significant and not easily controllable weight: places accessible to the public in general, and collective residences, in particular. The latter, specifically those intended for users over 65 who are self-sufficient or partially such, falling into the category of Senior Housing, are characterized by the presence of private residential accommodation and common areas connected to each other by a series of relationship spaces. I think common spaces will be the object of the future research in function of the safety for people: in this sense, the conseguences of COVID-19 must be a stimulus for future approaches not a limit.

This is interesting when we look at how and where the current spaces in cities work in the pandemic situation. In these cases, learning from what we already can evaluate can be a way of constructing a better vision for the similar events in the future. For instance, in Tehran there are little regards towards the small urban rivers as an integrating device in the city and how the city treats these linear organic structures and what potentials they may have other than becoming destinations for leasure in a park. The way people reappropriated these spaces during the pandemic proves that these spatial barriers have an effective role in maintaining city life in such situations. So, it seems that we don’t need a whole new planning system that can effectively cope with the situation but we only need to pay more attention to spaces with alternative potentials and promote these spaces to fit more senarios as such.

Planning the health sector, there should be collaborate with urban planning agencies by implementing health policies of urban plans. In doing this public health and sanitation issues will be properly addressed to meet current and future needs of the urban populace and also any health issue irrespective of the diseases and other public health concerns.

@ Martina Nobili what you have mentioned is what happened which have been series of effective assessment, How do you want to assess the future that you are talking about?

@ Tina Samie As Iranian, I would like to tell you the current policies in Iran and Tehran about COVID-19 were wrong-wrong-wrong and this is the true failure of the planning system and the urban planning system itself. I have seen that in other countries that lockdown has been the best decision on cutting the chain of infection, "BUT" again my question from you is how do you want to assess the future?

@ Tari Eyenghe I agree with you, let say Africa has been always affected and I can say Africa has been one of the most vulnerable places to pandemics what have you done after all these things that you have been through?

Kamran Jafarpour Ghalehteimouri Of course I am with you about the terrible political decisions that caused the spread of COVID-19 in the whole country, but what you refer to as spatial planning is something completely different from the political planning! As someone who is dealing with urban space, I would say that an assessment of future is only possible when you understand and have the ability to predict human behavior. If the spatial planning is based on sufficient data and information it would be more resilient and will have the capacity to respond to different kinds of unpredictable cases like a Pandemic. Whether or not this data and information (which I believe is critical in the case of an unprecedented event) is gathered or is permitted to be shared is a political matter but how to use the infromation to come up with a solution is a design matter that could be based on the current policies.

Tina Samie Spatial planning requires thinking spatially and it has several pillar and one of them is the political issues of the planning system , I would like to invites you to this sentence from RTPI "Spatial planning goes beyond formal political borders" and some where else mentioned that is beyond other type of planning like "landuse, regional planning, zoning, .. in all these you can see the strong notion of "politics" and "polices". Howere, my point of view is so twisted and more complicated than what you read and architecture and thinking in urban space. Also, to know what spatial planning is you need to think geographically.

Africa is peculiar case, as policy makers and leadership don't implement policies and plans that will bring positive change to the society. Good spatial plans and policies about physical planning in our cities, towns and other settlements have been made but the political will and instability in governance are the bane to sustainable growth and development in our society. Currently, no proactive measures to contain public health concerns (such as COVID-19, malaria, typhoid, cholera and others) and local economy recovery. The most vulnerable are the poor and voiceless in the society that depend on government for provision of services for survival. The rich and well to do in the society can afford services because they provide it themselves and they are also the decision makers.

Tari Eyenghe I hope we get rid of this COVID-19 it, since small and poor countries suffering can see how American and Chinese fighting and accusing each other. How, is the influence and the UN programs in Africa as I know they some contributions under the so-called African Development and so on.

La pandemia puede significar una oportunidad de hacer las ciudades sostenibles, siempre y cuando hayamos aprendido de los errores y cometidos. Enfrentar el presente implica colaboración entre poderes (públicos y privados) y dejar a un lado los propios intereses, para el beneficio común

Sonia Sansone Puedo estar de acuerdo con usted en algún tipo de similitudes entre el tiempo de la pandemia y las diferentes acciones de cambio climático, como la adaptación. ""In English better and understandable"""

The complex interrelations existing in the development area, make room for a diverse number of key ways, to improve Covid 19 policies, from the realm of spatial planning. Among these, we need an spatial multi-criteria framework (multidisciplinary) in order to set a comprehensive, specific and reliable database for the territory to manage/improve Covid 19 policies, including health personal profiles available, process and key causes of infection, health care facilities and specialists in charge, validated diagnosis and treatment for each case, process of attention provided, timing and its effectiveness, among others. This produces a geographical representation of the situation, tendencies and existing differences, where health services weaknesses can be clearly identified.

In the public interest we need to map and establish sequences originated in the so called "zero case/s", where and how they came from, tendencies of proliferation (geographically and socially speaking), rates and the differentiated incidence of key factors, on citizens, age, health state, location, living conditions, bio-security measures observed, citizens attitudes, uses of public spaces, etc.

Thus, in many other key processes and variables, spatial planning helps to contribute effectively to deal and tackle a critical pandemic like this.

Sure, looking at spatial planning, we should be mindful of the five components of planning; Political, Social, Economic, Policy/Laws and Physical.

For me, socio-economic and physical components are worth studying with reference to the Sub-Saharan region.

Peter M Wash Luis Fernando Gallegos-Rodríguez Sonia Sansone Tina Samie Martina Nobili

I sure the Sub-Saharan region in an interesting part of the world for different realm of science.

I concur

Sadia Afroj How do you evaluate Bangladesh as infrastructures are poor and people live in low standard housing system and urban density is higher than other places. Also, food security as food chains and food supply is under threaten. Finally, as I met many Bangladeshis they have a poor understanding on calibration and integrating spatial dimensions.?

Sadia Afroj #spatial autocorrelation modelling is more on statistical analysis. How do you want to assess? where are come from your data?

Sadia Afroj Eager to see the work.

Spatial planning can improve COVID-19 policies through replanning of our settlements by providing infrastructure and services that will promote COVID-19 protocol and good hygiene in our human systems. Especially, in informal settlements and rural areas that lack basic sanitation facilities and services developing economies.

Tari Eyenghe I agree with you, I put them in a nice world "Adaptation" and I think the best way to minimize/reduce/prevent different pandemics outbreaks.