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Weekly Urban News Update
January 8, 2020
In This Update
Washington, D.C. Under 15-Day Public Emergency Following Riots in the Capitol
Harare Institutes 30-Day Lockdown After Thousands Gather for New Year's Eve
Chinese Cities Ration Electricity for Millions
Residents of Seoul Shantytown Sue the City to Stop Housing Development
Mapping the Emotional Landscape of Johannesburg
UN-Habitat Adds 500 New Cities to Its COVID-19 Platform and Preparedness Tracker
In the News And Around the Web
Washington, D.C. Under 15-Day Public Emergency Following Riots in the Capitol
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a 15-day public emergency in the city following an assault on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday by pro-Trump rioters that sought to disrupt Congressional proceedings to certify the election of Joe Biden. Fifty police officers were injured in the attack, including one who succumbed to his injuries yesterday. One person was killed by police and three others died in what is being described as separate medical incidents. Nearly 100 people have been arrested so far. The emergency order is expected to be lifted on January 21st, the day after the inauguration of President-Elect Biden.

Read more here.
Harare Institutes 30-Day Lockdown After Thousands Gathered for New Year's Eve
Zimbabwe announced a strict 30-day lockdown in Harare after thousands of people gathered throughout the city on New Year’s Eve, despite a ban on large gatherings. COVID-19 cases have risen rapidly in Harare since Christmas and experts warn of a pending health catastrophe as overcrowded neighborhoods on the city's periphery, a fragile health system, and insufficient testing make it difficult to contain the virus. But, the lockdown will increase food insecurity as it temporarily bans informal trading, which is how millions of people in Zimbabwe earn their livelihoods. Many residents also say they have yet to receive any of the COVID-19 benefits promised by the government last spring.

Read more here.
Chinese Cities Ration Electricity for Millions
Last month, China began to ration electricity for several major cities, affecting more than 150 million people. Rapid economic recovery from COVID-19 and unexpected cold temperatures dramatically increased demand for electricity, which Chinese authorities say could exceed grid capacity. The city of Yiwu turned off streetlights for several days and ordered factories to open part-time, while in Wenzhou, companies can now only turn on their heat up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and only if outside temperature has dropped to freezing. One shopkeeper in Yiwu says: “[Government officials] don’t discuss this policy with you. They just notify you. If you don’t comply, they’ll cut off your electricity.”

Read more here.
Residents of Seoul Shantytown Sue the City to Stop Housing Development
Residents of the Guryong shantytown in Seoul are suing the city to stop a plan to build 4,000 units of public housing there. The planned public housing is part of Seoul’s efforts to address inequality in the city. But, residents in Guryong, who have lived there illegally and rent-free for decades and on average labor for $10 a day, fear they will be forcefully displaced with nowhere to go. Landowners in Guryong, who have not collected rent in decades, have also joined the suit, demanding higher compensation than offered by the government. Both residents and landowners say they would be better compensated if the government let private companies develop the land instead. 

Read more here.
Mapping the Emotional Landscape of Johannesburg
In the latest edition its Talking Urban Futures in Africa, the Center for Strategic and International Studies spoke with researchers Cobus van Staden and Nicky Falkof about why the emotions of a city can serve as a useful lens for understanding its political system, economy, and built environment. In Johannesburg, for example, anxiety about crime and how it intersects with class, race, and gender, influences residents’ behavior, how they build their homes, and how they move around the city. The authors say that because Johannesburg is a particularly and visibly unequal city, mapping its emotional landscape provides a template for understanding processes of global urbanization.

Read more here.
UN-Habitat Adds 500 New Cities to its COVID-19 Platform and Preparedness Tracker
UN-Habitat has added 500 new cities to its COVID-19 platform and preparedness tracker, bringing the total number of cities tracked up to 1,700. The platform, developed with CitilQ and launched in July, provides a Readiness Score, based on indicators on public health, societal strength, economic ability, infrastructure, and national collaborative will, and a Responsiveness Score, based on spread response, treatment response, economic response, and supply response. According to UN-Habitat, front line challenges of COVID-19 often manifest at the city level, meaning tracking city recovery and response is critical for the success of national strategies.

Read more here.
In the News and Around the Web

  • China Denies World Health Organization Investigators Entry to Wuhan: Entry refusal comes after months of negotiations with the Chinese government to allow a probe into the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan.

  • Kabul Rolls Out Surveillance Camera in Wake of Street Crime and Assassinations: Afghan authorities are installing surveillance cameras across Kabul, but rights groups express concerns about privacy.

  • Housing in Red Vienna: The history of housing in inter-war Vienna can provide insight for contemporary cities seeking to tackle their own housing crises.
Pro-Trump supporters march on the Capitol on Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo).
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