Dr Komali Yenneti, Prof. Debolina Kundu and Alireza Zangeneh
Funding period: 1 December 2021 – 1 December 2022
Type of funding:
Seminar Series
Host institutions: Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Iran), University of Wolverhampton (UK), National Institute of Urban Affairs (India), and Centre for Geographical Studies (India)
Dates: December 2021 (Kermanshah, Iran), June 2022 (New Delhi and Patna, India), and August 2022 (Wolverhampton, UK)
Lead organisers: Dr Komali Yenneti (lead organiser), Prof. Debolina Kundu, and Alireza Zangeneh
Team members: Prof. Poornima Shekhar Singh, Dr Gaurav Sikka (Lalit Narayan Mithila University), Ar. Pragya Sharma, Dr Salghuna Nair (Bharthidasan University), Ar. Naga V S K Manapragada (Nitte University), and Raziyeh Teimouri (University of South Australia)
Contact: Dr Komali Yenneti
Abstract: The rising concerns of the impact of COVID-19 on urban life and the shifting class character of the disease incidence and spread have increasingly led to recent discussions on urban inequalities and the potential challenges in different parts of the world. Yet, there is little holistic knowledge on the different dimensions of urban inequalities and the effects of post-COVID urban divides in our globally linked cities. The proposed ‘Recasting the City, Lives & Livelihoods, and Inequality in the post-COVID world’ seminar series project will critically engage policy, urban planning, epidemiology, health care planning, technology and social action to evaluate, explain and address inequalities and vulnerabilities. By bringing together important conversations on the spatial epidemiology of COVID-19 in urban social classes in Iran, the impact of COVID-19 on urban lives and livelihoods in India, and the incidence and outcomes of COVID-19 among the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups in the UK, the proposal takes into consideration the holistic debates on the multiple lived realities of cities across different sections of society and across different groups of countries. The initiative aims to support government, community initiatives and other urban collective responses to ‘rebuilding the city’ post-COVD-19 and foster international cooperation through exchange of knowledge, interventions and experiences.