Vol. 8 No. 2 (2020)
Space and Culture, India

Reviews

Revisiting Urbanisation Pattern amid COVID-19 Pandemic in India

Published 2020-09-28

  • Hemant Patidar
    • ,
  • Satheesh Chothodi

Hemant Patidar
Assistant Professor, Department of General & Applied Geography, School of Applied Sciences, Doctor Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, 470003

Satheesh Chothodi
Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, from its beginning in India on 30 January 2020, has caused over 3.7 million cases of illness and claimed over 66 thousand deaths as of 1 September2020. The large metropolitan cities have been the major hotspots of COVID-19 pandemic. The peculiar urbanisation patterns are crucial in spreading COVID-19 in India. This study attempts to highlight how urbanisation patterns increase the vulnerability of COVID-19 spread in India. The higher density, urban sprawl and associated intra-urban commuting, large slum population, inadequate water, sanitation and housing conditions along with homelessness are found to catalyse the vulnerability of COVID-19 spread in urban areas. The existing public health infrastructure in the country is found to be inadequate with respect to the increasing demand. Efforts to contain the spread are being made; nonetheless, the rapid increase in the cases of illness and deaths from COVID-19 has inflated the challenges for administration and citizens. Rapid enhancement in health infrastructure and health personnel must be made along with strict adherence to the measures of quarantine, social distancing and hygiene for the citizens are of utmost response to the decrease the spread.

Keywords

Urbanisation, COVID-19, Population Density, Migrant Workers, Health Infrastructure, India

pdf

References

  1. Acuto, M. (2020). COVID-19: Lessons for an Urban(izing) World. One Earth, 2 (4), pp. 317–319. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.04.2020.
  2. Ali Q. S. W. & Dkhar N. B. (2018, December 28). India's rampant urban water issues and challenges. The energy and resource institute. Retrieved 6 June 2020 from, https://www.teriin.org/article/indias-rampant-urban-water-issues-and-challenges
  3. Barr, J. and Tassier T. (2020, April 17). Are Crowded Cities the Reason for the COVID-19 Pandemic? Placing too much blame on urban density is a mistake. Observations.Retrieved 26 May 2020 from,https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/are-crowded-cities-the-reason-for-the-covid-19-pandemic/
  4. Bhaduri, S. D. (2020, March 19). What India can learn from China and South Korea to ward off coronavirus. Retrieved 27 May 2020 from, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
  5. Biswas, P. P. (2020). Skewed Urbanisation and the Contagion. Economic and Political Weekly, 55(16).
  6. Business Standard (2019, November 19). India's doctor-patient ratio still behind WHO-prescribed 1:1,000: Govt. Retrieved 29 May 2020 from, https://www.business-standard.com
  7. Covid19india.org. (2020). Coronavirus Outbreak in India. Retrieved 3 July & 03 September 2020 from, https://www.covid19india.org/
  8. Dandekar, A. (2020). Migration and Reverse Migration in the Age of COVID-19. Economic and Political Weekly, 55(19).
  9. Daszak, P., Cunningham A. A., & Hyatt A. D., (2000). Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife — threats to biodiversity and human health. Science, 287, 443–449. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.287.5452.443
  10. Desai D. (2020). Urban Densities and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Upending the Sustainability Myth of Global Megacities. ORF Occasional Paper. Retrieved 03 June 2020 from, https://www.orfonline.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/05/ORF_OccasionalPaper_244_PandemicUrbanDensities.pdf
  11. Dutta, S. S. (2020, June 12). India may run out of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients by July end: Study. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 June 2020 from,https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/jun/12/india-may-run-out-of-icu-beds-for-covid-19-patients-by-july-end-study-2155757.html
  12. Elzy Kolb (2019, July 11). 75,000 people per square mile? These are the most densely populated cities in the world, 24/7 Wall Street. Retrieved 26 May 2020 from, https://www.usatoday.com
  13. Eubank, S., Kumar G. H., Anil V. et al. (2004). Modelling disease outbreaks in realistic urban social networks. Nature, 429, 180–184. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02541 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02541
  14. Gani S. R., Ali, S. T. & Kadi, A. S. (2011). The transmission dynamics of pandemic influenza A/ H1N1 2009–2010 in India, Current Science, 101(8). pp. 1065–1072.
  15. Government of India (2011). Data on Workers (B-Series), Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, Government of India, New Delhi.
  16. Government of India (2011). Migration Tables (D-Series), Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, Government of India, New Delhi.
  17. Government of India (2011). Primary Census Abstract, Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, Government of India, New Delhi.
  18. Government of India (2014). Urban Slums in India, 2012. NSS 69th Round, National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi.
  19. Government of India (2019). National Health Profile-2019. Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Directorate General of Health Services Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, New Delhi.
  20. Guttikunda, S. K. & Mohan D. (2014). Re-fueling road transport for better air quality in India. Energy Policy, 68, pp. 556–561. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.12.067
  21. Hindustan Times (2020, April, 30). Inside Dharavi: India’s largest slum and a major Covid hotspot. https://www.hindustantimes.com
  22. Hotez, P. J. (2017). Global urbanisation and the neglected tropical diseases. PLoSNegl Trop Dis, 11(2). Retrieved 16 May 2020 from,https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005308. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005308
  23. Jena, M. (2017, November 18). Urban India’s paradox: The homeless risk death daily on the streets even as shelters remain empty. Retrieved 20 May 2020 from, https://scroll.in/article
  24. Jha, R. (2020). Urbanisation of pandemics. Observer Research Foundation. Retrieved 16 May 2020 from,https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/urbanisation-pandemics-65512/
  25. Joel K. (2020, April 2). After coronavirus, we need to rethink densely populated cities. Fortune. Retrieved 29 April 2020 from, https://fortune.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-dense-cities-urban-rural/
  26. Jonathan C. (2017). Urbanisation, Growth, and Development: Evidence from India, World Bank, Washington, DC. Retrieved 26 May 2020 from, https://www.gov.uk
  27. Jones, K. E., Patel, N. G., Levy, M. A., Storeygard, A., Balck, D., Gittleman J. L., & Daszak P. (2008). Global Trends in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Nature, 451(21), pp. 990-994. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06536 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06536
  28. Kapoor, G., Sriram, A., Joshi, J., Nandi, A. & Laxminarayan R. (2020, April 21). COVID-19 in India: State-Wise Estimates of Current Hospital Beds, ICU Beds, and Ventilators. Retrieved 25 May 2020 from,https://cddep.org
  29. Kumar S. & Quinn S. C. (2012). Existing health inequalities in India: informing preparedness planning for an influenza pandemic, Health Policy and Planning, 27(6), p. 516.
  30. McLafferty, S. (2010). Placing pandemics: Geographical dimensions of vulnerability and spread. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 51. Retrieved 25 May 2020 from, https://doi.org/10.2747/1539-7216.51.2.143 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2747/1539-7216.51.2.143
  31. Mitra, R. (2020 March, 23). Over 1.7 million homeless residents across India struggle to fight coronavirus. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2020 from,https://www.newindianexpress.com
  32. Morens, D. M., Folkers G. K. & Fauci A. S. (2004). The Challenge of Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases. Nature, 430, 242–249. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02759 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02759
  33. National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) (2012). Employment, Unemployment and Migration Survey, July 2007 - June 2008. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India (GOI), New Delhi.
  34. Neiderud C. J. (2015). How urbanisation affects the epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases. Infection Ecology & Epidemiology, 5(1). Retrieved 16 May 2020 from, https://doi.org/10.3402/iee.v5.27060 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/iee.v5.27060
  35. Niall M. (2020, March 19). The Countries With The Highest Density of Doctors, Statista. Retrieved 16 May 2020 from, https://www.statista.com.
  36. Nova, C. (2020). Covid-19 and the water crisis in India: a wakeup call for clean water. Smart water magazines, Retrieved 26 May 2020 from,https://smartwatermagazine.com
  37. Patidar, H. (2018). Livelihood Security in Rural India: Reflections from Some Selected Indicators. Forum for Development Studies, 46 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2018.1519517. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2018.1519517
  38. Pradhan, K. C. (2013). Unacknowledged urbanisation: The new Census towns of India, MPRA Working Paper, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Retrieved 16 May 2020 from,https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/41035/
  39. Rocklöv, J. and Sjödin H. (2020). High population densities catalyze the spread of COVID-19. Journal of Travel Medicine, 27(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa038. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa038
  40. Ruiqi L., Richmond P. & Roehner B. M. (2018). Effect of population density on epidemics. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Application, 510, pp. 713–724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2018.07.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2018.07.025
  41. Shaikh, Z. & Singh, L. (2019, July 22). The street is their home. Retrieved 15 June 2020 from https://indianexpress.com
  42. Sharma, N. C. (2020, May 28). Rural India is the new covid-19 flashpoint amid migrant influx. Livemint. Retrieved 02 June 2020 from,https://www.livemint.com/news/india/rural-india-is-the-new-covid-19-flashpoint-amid-migrant-influx-11590608606400.html
  43. Shelar, J. (2020, April 16). Coronavirus: Mumbai runs out of beds in ICUs, patients suffer, The Hindu. Retrieved 25 May 2020 from,https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/coronavirus-mumbai-runs-out-of-beds-in-icus-patients-suffer/article31360363.ece
  44. Singhal, S., Matto M. & Parsad J. (2020, May 18). COVID-19: Hits & misses of Centre’s advisory on water supply, sanitation: A review of MoHUA April, 2020 advisory on safe management of water supply and sanitation. Retrieved 16 June 2020 from, https://www.downtoearth.org.
  45. Smolinski, M. S., Hamburg, M. A. & Lederberg J. (2003). Microbial Threats to Health: Emergence, Detection and Response, Washington (DC). National Academies Press (US). Retrieved 16 May 2020 from,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221486/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK221486.pdf
  46. Subbaraman, R., Nolan, L., Shitole, T., Sawant, K., Shitole, S., Sood, K., Nanarkar, M., Ghannam, J., Betancourt, T. S., Bloom, D. E. & Patil D. A., (2014). The psychological toll of slum living in Mumbai, India: a mixed methods study. Social Science and Medicine, 119. pp. 155-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.021
  47. Sundaram N., Schaetti, C. & Purohit, V. et al. (2014). Cultural epidemiology of pandemic influenza in urban and rural Pune, India: a cross-sectional, mixed methods study, BMJ Open, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006350 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006350
  48. The Daily Pao (2016). An exhibition examines the severity of homelessness in Mumbai. Retrieved 18 May 2020 from,https://www.thedailypao.com
  49. The Indian Express (2020, 9 July). India may become worst-hit, record 2.87 lakh Covid cases daily by 2021: MIT Study. Retrieved 15 September 2020 from, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-daily-covid-coronavirus-cases-mit-study-6495853/
  50. The New Indian Express (2019, November 1). India’s public expenditure on health less than lower income countries: Government data. Retrieved 16 May 2020 from,https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/nov/01/indias-public-expenditure-on-health-less-than-lower-income-countries-government-data-2055553.html
  51. UNDP (2014). Our Urbanising World-2014/3, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. https://www.un.org
  52. Unger, A., Riley L. W. (2007). Slum health: from understanding to action. PLoS Medicine, 4, pp. 1561–66. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040295 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040295
  53. Un-Habitat (2003). The Challenge of slums: Global Report on Human Settlements, United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Earthscan Publications Ltd London and Sterling, VA. Retrieved 26 May 2020 from,https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/Challenge%20of%20Slums.pdf
  54. United Nations (2018). The World’s Cities in 2018. Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations. Retrieved 16 June 2020 from, https://www.un.org
  55. United Nations General Assembly (2010, July 28). Resolution 64/292: The human right to water and sanitation. Retrieved 16 May 2020 from, https://www.un.org/en/ga/64/resolutions.shtml.
  56. United Nations, (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet (ST/ESA/SER.A/424), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, United Nations. Retrieved 20 June 2020 from,https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_DataBooklet.pdf
  57. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet (ST/ESA/SER.A/424). Retrieved 15 September 2020 from, https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_DataBooklet.pdf
  58. Weiss, R. A. & McMichael A. J. (2004). Social and environmental risk factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Nature Med, 10, S70–S76. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1150 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1150
  59. Word Bank (2018). Word Bank Data. Retrieved 16 June 2020 from https://data.worldbank.org
  60. World Bank (2020). Urban Development. Urban development overview. Retrieved 16 June 2020 from, http://www.worlbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview.
  61. World Health Organisation (2011). How much water is needed in emergencies, Technical notes on drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene in emergencies. Retrieved 26 May 2020 from, https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/emergencies/WHO_TN_09_How_much_water_is_needed.pdf?ua=1
  62. World Health Organisation (2020). Corona virus disease (COVID-19) outbreak situation. Retrieved 2 September 2020 from, https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6O_7kNHv6wIVkqqWCh0OjwjFEAAYASAAEgKbbfD_BwE
  63. Wratten, E. (1995). Conceptualizing urban poverty. Environment and Urbanisation, 7, 11–38. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F095624789500700118 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095624789500700118
  64. Xiao W., et al. (2020). Exposure to Air Pollution and COVID-19 Mortality in the United States, MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.05.20054502 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.05.20054502
  65. Yashima K. & Sasaki A (2014). Epidemic Process over the Commute Network in a Metropolitan Area. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e98518. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098518
  66. Zachreson C., Fair, K. M., Cliff, O. M., Harding, N., Piraveenan, M. & Prokopenko M. (2018). Urbanisation affects peak timing, prevalence, and bimodality of influenza pandemics in Australia: Results of a census-calibrated model. Science Advances, 4. http://advances.sciencemag.org DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau5294

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.