The cessation of economic activities and the drastic decrease in mobility linked to the covid-19 confinement have had an evident environmental impact in cities. Less greenhouse gases emissions, better air quality and an incipient renaturation of urban areas have been significant improvements in urban environmental quality. Now, as normal activities start to be resumed, the debate will re-emerge between supporters of the fight against climate change and promoters of rapid socio-economic recovery – as if both were mutually exclusive.
But the fight against climate change is no longer optional; it has become something unavoidable – a must. Therefore, we face the double challenge of overcoming a socioeconomic crisis and preserving the environmental quality acquired during confinement.
In this context, what can be the way forward for cities? What are the trends that will dominate the new path towards local sustainability in the post-covid era?
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