Pandemi-cities: Agglomeration, density and urban connectivity in the health crisis from Covid-19

Abstract

During the first and second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, opinion leaders
as well as urban scholars claimed the urban density to be one of the most
relevant causes of such event. In the inevitable chaos of a public debate
always delayed in comparison to the sudden dynamics of the contagion, the
evergreen and popular dichotomy ‘urban/anti-urban’ has polarised the
arguments. This paper aims at proposing a discussion of the notions of
agglomeration, density, and connectivity used in urban studies, to contribute
to a more in-depth analysis of the territorial aspects of the pandemic. The
implications of the conceptual triad will be scrutinised according to the
evidence arisen during the first pandemic phase, according to some
empirical analyses developed on this topic by the author in cooperation with
other researchers. In conclusion, some considerations on the relationships
between the pandemic and the uneven geography of Italy will be presented.