COVID, resilience, and the built environment

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Environmental Science
• Disaster Management

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need for robust resilience planning across public and private sectors.
• Existing disaster, organizational, and engineering resilience activities have influenced healthcare sector responses to the pandemic.
• Community resilience frameworks are being adapted for public health and healthcare facility operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the reciprocal relationship between resilience planning and COVID-19 responses in the U.S.
• To offer insights into how built environment resilience positively impacted healthcare during the pandemic.
• To explore how COVID-19 experiences can inform future resilience strategies for the built environment and disaster preparedness.

Main Methods:

• Perspective-based analysis of existing literature and case examples.
• Focus on the built environment as a lens for understanding resilience.
• Synthesis of public health, healthcare management, and engineering resilience concepts.

Main Results:

• Resilience planning in both public and private sectors has demonstrably supported healthcare system functioning during COVID-19.
• The built environment's physical and social parameters offer opportunities for enhancing future preparedness.
• Adaptation of community resilience frameworks has aided in advancing health and operational continuity.

Conclusions:

• COVID-19 experiences provide valuable lessons for refining future resilience designs, policies, and plans.
• Integrating insights from the built environment is crucial for effective disaster, public health, and climate change responses.
• Overlooked aspects of the built environment's physical and social parameters can significantly inform preparedness strategies.