CALL FOR CHAPTERS

Fudan Latin America Universities Consortium (FLAUC)

On December 31, 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission informed about an outbreak of twenty-seven cases similar to pneumonia that appeared in the city´s seafood market. On January 5, 2020, the Chinese government announced the origin of a new type of coronavirus, different from SARS or MERS. Some days later, President Xi affirmed that the new virus was the most serious health problem in the history of the People's Republic. On January 22, Wuhan City was subjected to a strict quarantine. Among other measures, train and plane travel were canceled and the city's highways and roads were closed. From the very beginning, it became clear that cities would play a crucial role in confronting the new virus since the outbreak is challenging the functioning of urban systems in different ways, including the governance processes.

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had a multidimensional impact on all spheres of societal organization and has dramatically challenged the role of cities. Although a rapidly increasing interest in these issues has been observed (Klaus 2020), the academic literature on the particular role of cities from a sustainability perspective is obviously still scarce (Allam & Jones 2020; Corburn et al 2020; Cohen 2020). The virus expansion process reveals vulnerabilities of urban systems, even in developed countries. Some have associated the expansion of the virus with population density (Florida 2020), connectivity and international networks. Until now, the most effective way of containing the virus has been social distancing and lockdowns (Fang et al 2020), a paradox in a highly interconnected and interdependent world in which cities are the main contact nodes. However, cities have responded in different manners, with some achieving notable results in containing the pandemic.

Cities are also centers of innovation and development and can play a decisive role in the battle against the disease by developing protocols, vaccines, and treatments. Besides, cities are the principal tool to revive the economy since they concentrate sectors that are human capital intensive, but they also concentrate informal work that is particularly vulnerable to crises like this. In this context, the big question is: What is and what could be the role of the city in this historical moment? Faced with mounting vulnerability and increasing uncertainties, how should we plan a city´s resilience to this crisis and in the long run? How did cities respond around the globe? Although the work on this issue should be informed by the vast literature on pandemic preparedness (see for example Georgetown University 2020), the perspective we propose is not on issues of epidemiology or public health but on urban systems facing pandemic crises. The dysfunctions revealed and lessons learned during the pandemic, create a unique position to calibrate or re-design urban systems for resilience, sustainability and better quality of life. There is an urgent need to rethink urban systems in terms of service capacity, resource depletion, and economic relations to plan the efficient, effective, and equitable city of tomorrow. Furthermore, we believe that providing a multidisciplinary approach and broad revision of experiences from different cities, especially in China and Latin America, can provide important inputs for future action.

The FLAUC(https://flauc.fudan.edu.cn/)network–a consortium of twelve universities from Latin America and Fudan University- invites you to contribute with discussions of cities in times of a new pandemic from a multidisciplinary approach. The final product is planned to be published as an edited book in an international academic press.

Papers considering issues under the following themes are particularly welcome:

·Dr. Aleksandra Krstikj (sandra.krstik@tec.mx). Tec de Monterrey, Mexico

·Dr. Johannes Rehner (jrehner@uc.cl). Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

·Dr. Daniel Lemus-Delgado (dlemus@tec.mx). Tec de Monterrey, Mexico

·Dr. Miguel A. Montoya B.(mmontoya@tec.mx). Tec de Monterrey, Mexico

1.Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit (mmontoya@tec.mx) on or before July 4th, 2020, a chapter proposal no more than 1,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter.

2.Full chapters are expected to be submitted by August 4th, 2020 (mmontoya@tec.mx), and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at APA 6th edition.

3.Length of the chapters 5,000 to 7,000 words

4.All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis.

5.Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

·This book is scheduled to be published by recognized book houses.

·This publication is anticipated to be released in late 2020 or early 2021.

·Proposals Submission Deadline:July 4th, 2020

·Full Chapters Due:August 4th, 2020

·Miguel A. Montoya at mmontoya@tec.mx