Seventeenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic brought reconsiderations and doubts on urban density as compact cities became epidemic hot spots. Density though provides an upside in that medical services required to protect citizens against the spread of disease are concentrated within compact cities which helps reduce the mortality rate. Sociodemographic characteristics are also a crucial factor in determining the vulnerability of the population, and the purpose of this study is to empirically discover how these three urban factors affect the severity of the epidemic impacts. The research questions are as follows: (1) How do urban density, sociodemographic vulnerability, and medical service affect epidemic impact(infection and mortality rates)? (2) Does medical service accommodate mediated effects that help reduce severity of the impact? The study aimed to investigate the influential relationships between the urban factors and epidemic impacts and provide answers to whether superbmedical service in compact cities can scale down the impacts of COVID19. SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) was applied as the suitable research method for verifying interrelationships between factors based on theoretical grounds. The study collected data related to infection and mortality cases from each municipal, and it holds significance as primary research that enlightens the aspects of epidemic impact concerning urban settings and investigates for the first time the mediated effects of medical service.