Planning for Emerging Infectious Disease Pandemics

Spencer, James Nguyen H.; Marasco, David Eichinger Michelle

Problem, research strategy, and findings Takeaway for practice Planners have not paid enough attention to managing the risk of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), of which COVID-19 is the most recent manifestation. Overlooking aggressive policies to manage this risk of zoonotic viruses reassorting between sick animals and humans misses the greatest opportunity for stopping future disease pandemics. In this study we review several disciplines, outline the scant planning literature on EIDs, and identify the increasing calls from virologists and medical professionals to address urbanization as a key EID driver. Using the case of avian influenza outbreaks in Vietnam in 2004 and 2005, we conceptualize a preventive planning approach to managing the risk of zoonotic transmission that results in EID pandemics.We make several recommendations for planners. Practicing planners should consider how their plans manage the risk of zoonotic disease transmission between animals and humans through land use planning and community planning. Planning education and certification organizations should develop positions regarding the role of planning for EIDs. Food systems planners should consider the importance of livestock practices in food production as a risk factor for EIDs. Diverse research teams should combine geographic scales, data sources, and disciplinary knowledge to examine how an extended series of upstream and downstream events can result in a global pandemic. Such empirical examination can lead to effective planning policies to greatly reduce this risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the American Planning Association is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)