Today's pandemic will be tomorrow's climate problem!

Stating that the mandatory quarantines, restrictions and treatment processes imposed by the pandemic differentiate the spatial use area, Asst. Prof. Dr. Bülent Günes from Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) also emphasized that the urbanization phenomenon in the historical process and today is one of the most significant causes of the current pandemic.

Along with the coronavirus epidemic, differentiation and change began in all areas focused on consumption. One of these areas was architectural design. The number of people who prefer houses with gardens, balconies or terraces has increased considerably.

“URBAN DEVELOPMENTS MUST PRODUCE APPROACHES TO PREVENT THE PANDEMIC”

As the population increases, the contagion coefficient also increases. The widespread global economy and transportation networks, public health organization, inadequacies in the public sphere related to quarantine and isolation facilitate the spread of epidemics in the urban area. Asst. Prof. Dr. Bülent Günes from Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU), Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, stated the following:

“Architecture and planning disciplines need to create proposals for more permanent solutions that minimize risks. One of the most significant causes of the pandemic is today's urbanization phenomenon. The characteristics of settlement, uncontrolled growth, spatial inequalities, demographic structure, population density, development of tourism, trade, transportation and communication networks are among the important variables of the urbanization phenomenon. Remote working, which takes place more in our lives with the pandemic, caused the reorganization of the houses and the arrangement of the spaces. New sections in the interior, flexible solutions and hygiene at the entrance, flat roofs, balconies and terraces in the building are among the places that the pandemic has questioned. Approaches such as less equipment and furniture choice, food production, the use of ground floors or attics in high-rise buildings have improved with the pandemic.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Gunes also indicated that according to the UN report, 4.5 billion people live in cities. The current pandemic is not even a small laboratory of the climatic problem we will face in the future. Hence, urban developments need to produce approaches to prevent it.