The Role of Information in the Planning Processes of Pandemic-Resistant Cities
摘要
Planning pandemic-resistant environments for living requires the use of new kinds of information on human health and nature, and planning solutions should be based on informed insights from diverse disciplinary perspectives. Also, new scientific knowledge is needed on integrating a health perspective to multi-professional urban planning work. This study examines how new information on pandemics, infectious diseases, and the role of the environment in human health and wellbeing is connected to the urban planning processes and practices in Finland. The study is based on research on information use and information practices in multi-professional organizations. In knowledge-based work, people make decisions based on information and operate in information environments formed by various sources of information, other people, and physical and virtual conditions. Information practices developed in information environments can support the use of information. The research is based on 15 semi-structured interviews (16 interviewees) conducted with city employees participating in urban planning processes in two mid-sized cities in Finland. The findings provide conceptual and methodological tools for evidence-informed and resilient urban planning.