Cities in a postcovid world

1Walk of Barceloneta beach (Barcelona) Changing cities through people, policies and urban movements to make them more resilient and sustainable is essential to curb climate change and the loss of biodiversity and to contribute to the transformation of the economic model, origin of inequality and ecological crisis. Possibly the time is now. PEDRO ARMESTRE

2Samil Beach, Vigo (Pontevedra) Green spaces in cities encourage us to do more physical activity, relax, play and enjoy being with other people. Transforming vacant lots into community gardens and greener areas is one way to experience the change we want to create and reinvent the new city we want. Green space is our way of escaping urban pressures and going back to our roots. PEDRO ARMESTRE

3The Olympic village of Poblenou (Barcelona) The imposition of quarantines, the closure of public spaces and measures such as social distancing have been essential to tackle the coronavirus pandemic but, at the same time, the breeding ground for the loneliness epidemic that has years with us. The collapse of human relationships, moreover, affects more vulnerable populations: older adults and people with previous health problems or disabilities. PEDRO ARMESTRE

4Port Velle in Barcelona One of the changes that the hotel trade carries out to adapt its business to the post-covid-19 era is to enable the terraces with partitions and declare them covid-free zones. Reinventing a safer, better and cleaner city step by step, through coordinated economic decisions, careful political steps and, above all, with citizens. PEDRO ARMESTRE

5Bonaire Shopping Center (Valencia) We live on a planet with limited resources. However, our economy operates at a level where we would need three lands to satisfy our current consumption rate. Our addition to consuming more and more things seriously contributes to city emissions. If we take into account the consumption of goods and services, the emissions of cities could be up to 60% higher than currently estimated, showing the importance of changing towards sustainable and responsible consumption. We need to reverse unsustainable habits if we want to prevent the temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees. While we've been locked up, we are realizing that we don't need as many things to live well. PEDRO ARMESTRE

6 Las Lomillas Wind Farm, Tebar, Cuenca Estimates suggest that cities are responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions, with transport and energy use in buildings being the main contributors. Making our cities more livable and sustainable includes transforming the way they consume energy more efficiently, for example, improving the design of spaces and buildings, and rehabilitating existing ones. It also means replacing the consumption of fuels by renewable electricity and taking advantage of the available spaces, often on the roofs and facades themselves, to produce with renewable energy the electricity that those same buildings or others in the neighborhood need. One in three people in our country could produce their own energy, and half of our electricity could be self-produced by citizens with renewable sources. PEDRO ARMESTRE

7Marina d'Or, Orepesa del Mar (Castellón) We need to rethink our consumption habits, buying less but better. Cities need to change with us, reducing how much we consume; promoting reuse, repair and exchange, with access to repair shops and exchange stores in each city. Throwing it away or trying to recycle it should be our last option in the long life that any product can have. This would reduce the use of raw materials and decrease the generation of waste. PEDRO ARMESTRE

8Barrio de Triana de Sevilla It is possible to live in a city where all your food is grown locally, on farms or in urban or local gardens, in a sustainable way and in the right season. PEDRO ARMESTRE

9 Benimaclet Urban Garden (Valencia) A booming movement of farmers, citizens, mayors, and communities are building the future of food to make our urban areas more resilient. They are growing healthy food on urban farms and gardens, rooftop gardens and balconies. They are organizing farmers' markets, food cooperatives, and places for people to exchange and access healthy food. They are choosing to serve more vegetarian meals in public canteens and restaurants. They are growing, buying and cooking seasonal and local ingredients, avoiding unreliable and polluting exotic imports. PEDRO ARMESTRE

10Barceloneta Beach (Barcelona) The city 15 minutes away is a safer, closer and more sustainable model of city, neighborhood or district. This model of city must have public services (health centers, day centers, schools, etc.), neighborhood shops (groceries, clothing stores ...) and common spaces open to the neighborhood in order to facilitate participation, exchange and culture. PEDRO ARMESTRE

11Plaza de Catalunya (Barcelona) The new design of the streets and rethinking the current distribution of the roads (mostly dedicated to the automobile, even if it is the most inefficient means), enabling platforms for buses on this de-escalation, widening the sidewalks and turning them into places Safe to walk without fear of contagions, promoting cycling on urban routes for all people are great steps to keep air quality at healthy values ​​for the population. PEDRO ARMESTRE

12 Seville Airport According to the European Organization for the Safety of Area Navigation (Eurocontrol), European air traffic has been reduced by more than 90%. A few months ago, the greatest challenge facing humanity was the climate and biodiversity crises: stopping them in time to avoid reaching a point of no return and adapting to the impacts of climate change that can no longer be avoided. Today, the priority remains the same, but a pandemic has added to it, which has exposed the vulnerability of cities, countries, the planet and, therefore, those of us who inhabit them. PEDRO ARMESTRE

13City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia Green spaces in cities encourage us to do more physical activity, relax, play and enjoy being with other people. Transforming vacant lots into community gardens and greener areas is one way to experience the change we want to create, and reinvent the new city we want. Green space is our way of escaping urban pressures and going back to our roots. PEDRO ARMESTRE

14Puerto de Sagunto (Castellón) Until the arrival of the pandemic, cars occupied an average of 50% of the city, counting the streets and parking lots. An average urban person could spend about 100 hours in traffic jams each year. Furthermore, the transport sector is the fastest contributing to the climate emergency. Something's not right. Cities should be made for all people, not cars. PEDRO ARMESTRE

15Sevilla Women choose to leave the workforce in many countries due to structural barriers, social norms and parenting responsibilities; in Spain, despite some progress, too. When women work, they often choose flexible part-time jobs to accommodate their unpaid care burden. These positions tend to be less qualified and lower paid, even with the same age, educational level and sector. These gaps in economic opportunities persist and have become visible around who was behind the care structure during the crisis. Life in cities during this period has been supported and ensured mostly by women. PEDRO ARMESTRE