We’ve all seen the footage of people in protective suits and vehicles spraying cities to control COVID-19. But because of the way disinfectant and contamination work, it might be mostly for show.
COVID-19 has upturned uses of public spaces that we took for granted. Will shifts in the regulation of these spaces lead to a change in thinking about who “owns” the city?
The Bread Famine and the Pawnbroker, Brothers Lesueur (18th century)
After the brief shock of food insecurity in the form of empty supermarket shelves, we might start thinking about having a Plan B and C based on local food sources and shorter supply chains.
Taking reasonable precautions such as wearing gloves can help businesses avoid civil liability.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Some members of Congress want to grant businesses total immunity from coronavirus-related civil liability. A legal scholar explains why it’s unnecessary – and may be counterproductive.
We’ve all seen the increases in people walking and cycling on shared paths so crowded it’s almost impossible to maintain physical distancing. This must be fixed, and quickly.
U.S. Air Force troops erected a temporary hospital in Liberia in 2014 to help fight an Ebola outbreak.
John Moore/Getty Images
There is plenty the military could do to help protect public health, such as by helping with supply logistics and providing workers to do important tasks – including health care professionals.
Anxiety and loneliness affect many people at the best of times. The pandemic-induced isolation and stress won’t be helping, but cities can do many things to improve the ‘emotional climate’.
Now is the time for a two-pronged strategy to ensure everyone has a home: a spot-purchasing program to find homes for people now in emergency accommodation, followed by social housing construction.
Campus shutdowns mean researchers must be classified as essential personnel to tend collections, like these fungus-colonized plants.
Cameron Stauder
From fungi and flies to spiders and fish, living collections need care and feeding even when their human keepers are dealing with a pandemic and its resultant social distancing.
Arnagretta Hunter, Australian National University and John Hewson, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Other existential risks include the decline of natural resources (particularly water), human population growth beyond the Earth’s carrying capacity, and nuclear weapons.
We are all finding out about neighbourhood liveability as we stay home for the coronavirus lockdown. What we learn about local strengths and weaknesses can help us improve our communities in future.
With a threatening virus sweeping the world, research efforts across sectors have ground to a halt. But one thing is clear: the non-scientific community has never valued research more.
Noting nature around you – it could be a glance outside, tending plants, or ‘green’ exercise – will improve your well-being, research shows. The coronavirus pandemic has made it even more important.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro puts on a mask during a March news conference about the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP Photo/Andre Borges)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been called the South American version of Donald Trump. His behaviour during the coronavirus pandemic shows why.
Governments and corporations must get serious about the legal, technical, economic, social and ethical implications of a potential space-based resource economy.
COVID-19 is creating overwhelming needs for intensive care and testing facilities. An Australian team is developing purpose-built units that can be shipped and erected quickly, easily and cheaply.