Response and Recovery (Asynchronous Session)
Effectiveness of Local Government Response to COVID-19 to Strengthen the Resilience of Communities in Northwest Florida: Efficient Public Policies View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Haris Alibašić, William Crawley
Responses to COVID-19 have exposed a widening gap between the cities, counties, state, and Federal ability to address the crisis. The issues of Federalism and the role of local government in protecting communities have placed an additional burden on local resources. Cities and counties are left to plan and fend on their own the negative effects of crisis from quarantines to reopening. Applying the quadruple bottom line approach to understanding resilience with a renewed focus on economic, social, and governance factors of sustainability, the authors analyze the current state of response to the pandemic by Northwest Florida counties and cities. The key research question is to evaluate the effectiveness of local programs and policies on the pandemic. The methodology includes interviews with a purposely select number of elected and appointed officials. Coupled with interviews, the analysis is enhanced with a review of relevant policies in place to address the disparate impact on vulnerable segments of the population, documents programs to support the homeless population during the pandemic, addressing the effects of the pandemic on the low-income populations. The results show a variety of approaches and effects on vulnerable segments of communities.
Business Improvement Districts and Sustainability in COVID19 Recovery View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Robert Winston Taylor, Lisa Johnston
Business improvement districts (BIDs) are officially designated geographical areas within cities that provide services for resilience and regeneration of those areas. Most BIDs are in commercial areas that have experienced slower growth and seek to redress economic decline through innovative management strategies. Most of these strategies revolve around traditional marketing business practices, but some BIDs utilize sustainability design strategies to enhance their economic competitiveness. Expansion of green spaces; bike paths; increasing walkability; tree planting; green streets; green corridors; and complete streets are key sustainability design strategies that are utilized. The impact of COVID19 on commercial districts of cities has been enormous. The lockdown of restaurants and other commercial activities in these areas has caused massive business stress. Many businesses have been forced into insolvency in the shift from place-based to online commerce. This paper provides the results of a study in Montclair New Jersey, USA, of how BIDs that utilize sustainability design practices are more successful in adjusting economically to the COVID19 crisis in commercial areas of cities. The conclusion reached is that municipalities that develop effective management entities consisting of local stakeholder engagement (BIDs) adopting sustainability design are more resilient to economic shocks and vulnerabilities (COVID19).
Exploring Solid Waste Management During Pandemic: The Malaysian Experience View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Emy Ezura A-Jalil
The Waste Management Association of Malaysia (WMAM) claims that the waste generated from households increased by 20% to 30% after implementing a movement control order (MCO) on March 18, 2020. This situation started to give a major concern when World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 waste as hazardous, requiring a proper disposable method. The single-use of waste generation is expected to rise post-pandemic due to hygiene concerns, and the public community still not aware of it. There is no specific guideline in disposing of waste during the pandemic outbreak. Therefore, proper handling and final disposal of this waste is a critical component of an efficient emergency response. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the influence factors with waste behavior during the pandemic and to explore the factors that influence household waste behavior during the pandemic in Malaysia. This study adopted the Symbiosis Perspective as the theoretical framework. Four hundred eighteen Malaysian households were chosen as the research sample. The research use correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis to fulfill the objective. The findings reveal that the Personal and Situational Factors are significant for improved solid waste management during the pandemic.
