Rethinking Urban Epidemiology: Natures, Networks and Materialities.

Area of Science:

• Urban studies
• Public health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Urbanization and globalization are frequently cited as drivers for infectious disease emergence.
• Traditional views often frame urban epidemics as natural consequences of these processes.
• A need exists to critically examine the multifaceted relationship between urban environments and disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between urban environments and infectious diseases from multiple perspectives.
• To challenge the notion of urban epidemics as purely natural or inevitable outcomes.
• To analyze how social, political, biological, and economic factors shape disease emergence in cities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis through three perspectives: materialities of health, nature, and networks.
• Integration of biological dynamics, environmental influences, and social practices.
• Application of multispecies ethnographies and security analyses.

Main Results:

• Urban epidemics are not self-evident or natural consequences of globalization and urbanization.
• Disease emergence is shaped by a complex interplay of social, political, biological, and economic factors across various scales.
• Pathogen emergence is contingent on specific analytical frameworks and local articulations.

Conclusions:

• Rethinking urban epidemics requires moving beyond universal categories of space, modernity, or risk.
• Focusing on local contexts provides insights into diverse urban life and the political constitution of health.
• A critical examination of how infectious diseases manifest locally is crucial for understanding urban health.