TY - JOUR
T1 - Compact cities and the Covid-19 pandemic
T2 - Systematic review of the associations between transmission of Covid-19 or other respiratory viruses and population density or other features of neighbourhood design
AU - Zhang, Xiaomeng
AU - Sun, Ziwen
AU - Ashcroft, Thulani
AU - Dozier, Marshall
AU - Ostrishko, Kayla
AU - Krishan, Prerna
AU - McSwiggan, Emilie
AU - Keller, Markéta
AU - Douglas, Margaret
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge Professor Gerry Fowkes (University of Edinburgh) and the Usher Network for Covid-19 Evidence Reviews (UNCOVER) group, including Dr Ruth McQuillan, Professor Evropi Theodoratou, Professor Harry Campbell, Dr Gwenetta Curry, Professor Harish Nair, and Dr Neneh Rowa-Dewar. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2022/7/1
Y1 - 2022/7/1
N2 - Living in compact neighbourhoods that are walkable, well connected, with accessible green space can benefit physical and mental health. However, the pandemic raises concern up to what extent features of compact neighbourhood design affect transmission of viral respiratory infections. We conducted a systematic review to identify, appraise and synthesise evidence reporting associations between transmission of respiratory viruses, including Covid-19, and dwelling or population density or other features of neighbourhood design. Twenty-one studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies used different measures of neighbourhood design, contributing to inconsistent findings. Whereas no convincing conclusion can be drawn here, the outcome of this review indicates that robust, global evidence is warranted to inform future policies and legislation concerned with compact neighbourhood design and transmission of respiratory and viral infection.
AB - Living in compact neighbourhoods that are walkable, well connected, with accessible green space can benefit physical and mental health. However, the pandemic raises concern up to what extent features of compact neighbourhood design affect transmission of viral respiratory infections. We conducted a systematic review to identify, appraise and synthesise evidence reporting associations between transmission of respiratory viruses, including Covid-19, and dwelling or population density or other features of neighbourhood design. Twenty-one studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies used different measures of neighbourhood design, contributing to inconsistent findings. Whereas no convincing conclusion can be drawn here, the outcome of this review indicates that robust, global evidence is warranted to inform future policies and legislation concerned with compact neighbourhood design and transmission of respiratory and viral infection.
KW - Compact neighbourhoods
KW - Population density
KW - Respiratory infectious diseases
KW - Urban design
U2 - 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102827
DO - 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102827
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35642837
SN - 1353-8292
VL - 76
SP - 102827
JO - Health & Place
JF - Health & Place
M1 - 102827
ER -