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Weekly Urban News Update
January 15, 2020
In This Update
IHC Global Announcement
Airbnb Cancels Washington, D.C. Reservations Ahead of Presidential Inauguration
COVID-19 Threatens to Overwhelm Healthcare Capacity in South African Cities
Greening Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery in Middle East and North African Cities
Research Shows Lockdowns Improved Urban Air Quality Less Than Anticipated
Historic Snowfall In Madrid Worsens Living Conditions in City Slum
"The Line": Saudi Prince Announces Latest Initiative of Futuristic City Neom
In the News And Around the Web
IHC Global Announcement
IHC Global is excited to announce that we are moving the Weekly Urban News Update to Mondays. We'll be sending out our next newsletter on Monday, January 25th! So, please be sure to look out for delivery of urban news to your inbox to start your week.

Have you missed a past newsletter or would like to find a previous article? We upload all our past newsletters to our website. You can find them here.
Airbnb Cancels Washington, D.C. Reservations Ahead of Presidential Inauguration
In response to violent insurrections at the United States Capitol last week, Airbnb has cancelled all reservations made for Washington, D.C. during inauguration week. FBI intelligence has warned of armed demonstrations while a local campaign called Shutdown D.C. petitioned Airbnb to block reservations. In a letter sent to the rental company, Shutdown D.C. asserted: “Thousands of people traveled to D.C. [last week] to attempt a violent insurrection that left five people dead. Many of the individuals involved in this attack stayed at Airbnbs and made our communities their home base for violence. Neighbors have shared stories of vandalism and harassment in their communities."

Read more here.
COVID-19 Threatens to Overwhelms Healthcare Capacity in South African Cities
COVID-19 cases and deaths have spiked dramatically in South Africa since the Christmas. Officials are especially concerned about the impact of holiday travel on Gauteng, the country’s most populous region, home to its largest city Johannesburg and its executive capital Pretoria. The virus is already overwhelming the region’s hospitals. A Pretoria hospital has already reached capacity and is now housing patients in outdoor tents as they wait for hospital admission. South Africa has so far reported 3 million cases, representing 30% of all cases in the African continent.

Read more here.
Greening Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery in Middle East and North African Cities
Post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Middle East and North African cities should focus on greener, more resilient, and more inclusive development by improving urban air quality and integrated coastal zone management, according to a blog by the World Bank. Poor air quality and coastal zone management have had severe health and economic impacts in the region: experts estimate that poor air quality in Cairo, which has caused widespread respiratory and cardiovascular disease, has also cost Egypt 1.4% of its national GDP. The authors believe that the region’s cities can build back better through reforms in policies, institutions, and governance, improved data, and citizen participation.

Read more here.
Research Shows Lockdowns Improved Urban Air Quality Less Than Anticipated
New research shows that urban air quality improved less during the COVID-19 lockdowns than originally estimated. Reduced traffic and economic activity suggested that air pollution would dramatically decrease, but in a study of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in 11 global cities, ranging from Beijing to London to New Delhi, researchers concluded that the impacts of lockdowns on air pollution levels were “more complex…and smaller than expected.” While nitrogen dioxide fell 10-50% and PM2.5 decreased in all 11 cities, except London and Paris, O3 increased 2-30% due to weather and seasonal trends.

Read more here.
Historic Snowfall in Madrid Worsens Living Conditions in City Slum
In Madrid, historic snowfall and freezing temperatures have worsened living conditions in the Spanish capital's Canada Real Galiana slum. In Canada Real, 8,000 residents live in extreme poverty without access to basic services and half of its residents have lived without electricity for the past four months. Officials blame the electricity outage on local cannabis plantations that they say demand large amounts of electricity. The U.N. Human Rights Council has condemned their response, instead warning that: “Without electricity, there is no heat in homes and no hot water…During the COVID-19 pandemic, when hygiene is more important than ever, this is especially troubling.”.

Read more here.
"The Line": Saudi Crown Prince Announces Latest Initiative of Futuristic City Neom
At Middle East Eye, Rayhan Uddin reports on the latest initiative of Saudi Arabia’s planned $500 billion futuristic megacity Neom. Last week, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman announced that “The Line,” will comprise a 170-kilometer straight line city without cars or roads. Bin Salman says that its “zero cars, zero streets, and zero carbon emissions,” will enable one million residents to fulfill all their daily educational and leisure needs within a five-minute walk of their home. Uddin observes: “It was not made clear how or why a city built in a straight-line ma(kes) it easier for people to walk to their desired destinations compared to a conventionally shaped city.” 

Read more here.
In the News and Around the Web

  • Trump Seeks to Freeze $27.4 Billion in Government Programs: The announcement made during his last week will largely affect foreign aid and international programming.

  • Biden Nominates Samantha Powell for USAID Administrator: The President-Elect also announced he will elevate the Administrator position to the National Security Council.

  • Pilgrims Flock to Manila Despite COVID-19 Risk: Tens of thousands celebrated the Feast of Black Nazarene on Saturday despite government advice to stay home.

  • Singapore's Nail House Owners: Two homeowners have disrupted a major housing project by refusing to accept money from the property developer for demolition.

  • Housing and Upward Mobility: A new report by the Urban Institute provides evidence and indicators for why families need quality housing to move out of poverty.
Tens of thousands gathered in Manila on Saturday to celebrate the Feast of Black Nazarene.
(Photo Credit: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images).
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