How to Create Healthy, Stress-Resilient Post-Pandemic Cities

Magdalena Wdowicka (), Lidia Mierzejewska, Marta Szejnfeld, Bogusz Modrzewski, Kamila Sikorska-Podyma, Adam Wronkowski and Ewa Lechowska
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Magdalena Wdowicka: Department of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Lidia Mierzejewska: Department of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Marta Szejnfeld: Department of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Bogusz Modrzewski: Department of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Kamila Sikorska-Podyma: Department of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Adam Wronkowski: Department of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland
Ewa Lechowska: Department of Investment and Real Estate, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz, 90-255 Lodz, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-24

Abstract: This article analyzes the correlation between the city size, population density and character of three Polish cities and the following aspects: (1) inhabitants’ subjective stress level and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) sources and effects of their stress during the pandemic, (3) ways of reducing stress by residents and the role of greenery in this respect and (4) directions of changes in the structure of post-pandemic cities desired by their residents. The main research method was geo-surveys, the results of which were developed using statistical analysis and GIS methods. On the basis of the constructed scale, respondents subjectively assessed the level of experienced stress and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research shows that none of the considered features of cities (including size measured by the number of inhabitants) are related to the level of pandemic stress of their inhabitants. All of them, on the other hand, are correlated with the directions of urban spatial development desired by the residents, conducive to stress reduction. Furthermore, the size of the city and its character affect the subjectively perceived change in stress levels during the pandemic (compared to the stress level before pandemic). Some of the effects of pandemic stress and ways of reducing it depend on the character of the city. The stress experienced by the inhabitants is the lowest in cities with the largest share of green areas in the spatial structure (especially with forest complexes and naturally shaped areas of river valleys), where an effective system of greenery has been adopted (the Howard’s garden city model), and at the same time with dominant single-family housing. The research results were used to indicate new directions for shaping post-pandemic cities that are more resistant to stress and thus healthier for their residents.

Keywords: city; stress-resilient city; healthy city; COVID-19; urban stress; stress causes; stress effects; urban greenery; biophilic design; urban spatial structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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