Cities drive prosperity. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, they also have become crucibles of disease. Sameh Wahba, the World Bank’s Global Director of Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience, and Land, joins Azeem Azhar to discuss how the World Bank partners with technologists to help cities on the frontline of the pandemic, and how the dynamism of urban density can be harnessed to build livable and inclusive cities of the future.

They also address:

• Why the inexorable trend towards urbanization will not be stopped by Covid-19.
• Why more densely populated cities are not necessarily the worst affected.
• How satellite imagery, 3D maps, and AI are helping cities manage transmission hotspots.

Further reading:

• “Now Is the Time to Embrace Density” (New York Times, 2020)
• “Cities are on the front lines of COVID-19” (World Bank Blog, 2020)
• “Competitive Cities for Jobs and Growth: What, Who and How” (Global Urban Lecture, 2017)

@SamehNWahba

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Note: We updated one sentence in this interview for clarity.