How has COVID-19 affected the way cities approach public health crises such as pandemics and the technology they use to help them safeguard public health? This is the question a research group coordinated by Prof. Celso Machado, Jr. at , a member institution of UNAI in Brazil, set out to answer with a new study on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in city management. The study analyses a wide range of environmental, social, and economic variables, while examining sustainable and resilient cities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research group established a joint study with Sao Paulo University and the Municipal University of S?o Caetano do Sul to examine how cities managed pandemics pre-COVID and how they are approaching the current pandemic. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 most cities’ pandemic responses were based on building urban structure aimed at reducing people's vulnerability, in addition to health surveillance, but they now rely more on digital information resources such as data obtained through smartphone applications to track confirmed cases of COVID-19, meaning the development of public health policies are increasingly dependent on ICTs.?
According to the study, “smart technologies allow urban management to be prescriptive and to be guided by data, obtained in real time, in order to anticipate crises and identify opportunities for the development of public policies and actions.” Researchers found that ICTs are essential tools in the prevention, reduction in transmission and treatment of COVID-19.
The argues that ICTs “provide the digital infrastructure needed for delivering crucial health information, tracking developments regarding the virus, and locating critical health assets.” The study in which UNIP participated shows that increased digital engagement by those working in local governments allowed cities to better deal with the effects of the pandemic because public managers can use available data to plan actions and monitor and verify the effectiveness of such actions in real time.
The researchers noted that the adoption of this approach is not widespread, and also might raise concerns on data privacy and protection, but according to Prof. Machado, Jr. the pandemic has led municipal leaders to rethink the role of ICTs in city management: "The advancement of ICTs is bringing changes that have expanded into the planning and management processes in cities. Now ICTs have redefined how we understand urban centers and how we can better address crises like this one,” he said.
In an emergency like this, Prof. Machado, Jr. noted, “data driven digital engagement has the potential to enable and improve urban governance and the sustainability of cities.”
This compiled by the ITU shares the latest information and literature on how smart, sustainable cities are using ICTs and digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic.?