IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v10y2023i1d10.1057_s41599-023-01735-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Built environment as interface: a relation-based framework for the intersections between built, biotic, social, and health processes during COVID-19 and beyond

Author

Listed:
  • Hannah Howland

    (PYATOK | architecture + urban design)

  • Vadim Keyser

    (California State University)

Abstract

By broadening disciplinary perspectives to architecture and design, philosophy of science, and systems biology, this paper aims to explore the interconnections between built, social, biotic, and health processes with key attention to the moderating roles of the built environment. The focus is part diagnostic and part prescriptive. Initially, we specify failures in COVID-19 representational infrastructure and practice in accounting for built environment and social process impacts on public health factors. By presenting three intertwined problems with scientific representation in COVID-19 modeling and data-gathering, we examine to what extent current scientific practices fail to robustly account for the complex intersections between built, biotic, social, and health processes. We suggest that resolving the presented problems requires the development of new conceptual precedents for the analysis of causal relations in changing contexts. The second focal point is prescriptive. By discussing conceptual developments that spotlight relations—e.g., ‘context’, ‘nudge’, ‘affordance’, and ‘interface’—we organize the numerous moderating roles of built environment contexts, and we suggest practical applications to ongoing public health practices—such as, cautioning against nudge policies. Ultimately, we argue that the built environment can be represented not only as a single variable (or handful of discrete variables) but also as an interface that reorganizes multiple causal landscapes—concurrently, deregulating factors and leaving others unaffected. Because of the difficulty of representing emergent properties, relevant to differential built environment burden and inequitable health outcomes, we provide ways to visualize the built environment as interface in multidimensional form. We conclude that adequately representing the various moderating roles of the built environment goes a step beyond how to represent complexity, and it requires asking a deeper normative question: who ought to be involved in representing complexity.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Howland & Vadim Keyser, 2023. "Built environment as interface: a relation-based framework for the intersections between built, biotic, social, and health processes during COVID-19 and beyond," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01735-6
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-01735-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-023-01735-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-023-01735-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Farah Kader & Clyde Lanford Smith, 2021. "Participatory Approaches to Addressing Missing COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-11, June.
    2. Máté Kapitány-Fövény & Mihály Sulyok, 2020. "Social markers of a pandemic: modeling the association between cultural norms and COVID-19 spread data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Lapinski, Maria Knight & Funk, Julie A. & Moccia, Lauren T., 2015. "Recommendations for the role of social science research in One Health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 51-60.
    4. Evangelia Chrysikou, 2018. "Why we need new architectural and design paradigms to meet the needs of vulnerable people," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-6, December.
    5. Cyrille Rigolot, 2020. "Transdisciplinarity as a discipline and a way of being: complementarities and creative tensions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-5, December.
    6. Eric S. Coker & Laura Cavalli & Enrico Fabrizi & Gianni Guastella & Enrico Lippo & Maria Laura Parisi & Nicola Pontarollo & Massimiliano Rizzati & Alessandro Varacca & Sergio Vergalli, 2020. "The Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 Related Mortality in Northern Italy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 611-634, August.
    7. Amadou Gaye & Gary H Gibbons & Charles Barry & Rakale Quarells & Sharon K Davis, 2017. "Influence of socioeconomic status on the whole blood transcriptome in African Americans," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Ronan F Arthur & James H Jones & Matthew H Bonds & Yoav Ram & Marcus W Feldman, 2021. "Adaptive social contact rates induce complex dynamics during epidemics," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Jingjing Zeng & Meiquan Jiang & Meng Yuan, 2020. "Environmental Risk Perception, Risk Culture, and Pro-Environmental Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Serina Chang & Emma Pierson & Pang Wei Koh & Jaline Gerardin & Beth Redbird & David Grusky & Jure Leskovec, 2021. "Mobility network models of COVID-19 explain inequities and inform reopening," Nature, Nature, vol. 589(7840), pages 82-87, January.
    11. Gabriele Bammer, 2017. "Should we discipline interdisciplinarity?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(1), pages 1-4, December.
    12. Harriet A. Washington, 2020. "How environmental racism is fuelling the coronavirus pandemic," Nature, Nature, vol. 581(7808), pages 241-241, May.
    13. Rashid, J.R. & Spengler, R.F. & Wagner, R.M. & Melanson, C. & Skillen, E.L. & Mays Jr., R.A. & Heurtin-Roberts, S. & Long, J.A., 2009. "Eliminating health disparities through transdisciplinary research, cross-agency collaboration, and public participation," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(11), pages 1955-1961.
    14. Casper Boks & Timothy C. McAloone, 2009. "Transitions in sustainable product design research," International Journal of Product Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 429-449.
    15. Frame, Bob & Brown, Judy, 2008. "Developing post-normal technologies for sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 225-241, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cyrille Rigolot, 2020. "Transdisciplinarity as a discipline and a way of being: complementarities and creative tensions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-5, December.
    2. Cyrille Rigolot, 2021. "Organizing and better understanding transdisciplinarity in the context of artificial intelligence expansion: a crucial role for the new alliance between economics and engineering," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 48(4), pages 615-620, December.
    3. Liu, Qiyang & Liu, Zhengying & Kang, Tingting & Zhu, Le & Zhao, Pengjun, 2022. "Transport inequities through the lens of environmental racism: Rural-urban migrants under Covid-19," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 26-38.
    4. Lorenzo Amir Nemati Fard & Michele Starnini & Michele Tizzoni, 2023. "Modeling adaptive forward-looking behavior in epidemics on networks," Papers 2301.04947, arXiv.org.
    5. Masahiko Haraguchi & Akihiko Nishino & Akira Kodaka & Maura Allaire & Upmanu Lall & Liao Kuei-Hsien & Kaya Onda & Kota Tsubouchi & Naohiko Kohtake, 2022. "Human mobility data and analysis for urban resilience: A systematic review," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(5), pages 1507-1535, June.
    6. Panicker, Akhil & Sasidevan, V., 2024. "Social adaptive behavior and oscillatory prevalence in an epidemic model on evolving random geometric graphs," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    7. John D. Ditekemena & Christophe Luhata & Hypolite M. Mavoko & Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo & Dalau M. Nkamba & Wim Van Damme & Shahul H. Ebrahim & Christiana Noestlinger & Robert Colebunders, 2021. "Intimate Partners Violence against Women during a COVID-19 Lockdown Period: Results of an Online Survey in 7 Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-10, May.
    8. Sasha Shahbazi & Kerstin Johansen & Erik Sundin, 2021. "Product Design for Automated Remanufacturing—A Case Study of Electric and Electronic Equipment in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Cynthia H. Stahl, 2014. "Out of the Land of Oz: the importance of tackling wicked environmental problems without taming them," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 473-477, December.
    10. Eugenio Valdano & Davide Colombi & Chiara Poletto & Vittoria Colizza, 2023. "Epidemic graph diagrams as analytics for epidemic control in the data-rich era," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Marion Davin & Mouez Fodha & Thomas Seegmuller, 2021. "Environment, public debt and epidemics," AMSE Working Papers 2128, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    12. Blackburn, Nivea & Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse & Hooper, Val, 2014. "A dialogical framing of AIS–SEA design," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 83-101.
    13. Johann Audrain & Mateo Cordier & Sylvie Faucheux & Martin O’Connor, 2013. "Écologie territoriale et indicateurs pour un développement durable de la métropole parisienne," Revue d'économie régionale et urbaine, Armand Colin, vol. 0(3), pages 523-559.
    14. Ray L. Ison & Kevin B. Collins & Ben L. Iaquinto, 2021. "Designing an inquiry‐based learning system: Innovating in research praxis to transform science–policy–practice relations for sustainable development," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 610-624, October.
    15. Lu, Xuefei & Borgonovo, Emanuele, 2023. "Global sensitivity analysis in epidemiological modeling," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 304(1), pages 9-24.
    16. Gregory Hill & Steven Kolmes & Michael Humphreys & Rebecca McLain & Eric T. Jones, 2019. "Using decision support tools in multistakeholder environmental planning: restorative justice and subbasin planning in the Columbia River Basin," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 9(2), pages 170-186, June.
    17. Deka, Aniruddha & Bhattacharyya, Samit, 2022. "The effect of human vaccination behaviour on strain competition in an infectious disease: An imitation dynamic approach," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 62-76.
    18. Yoon, Jisung & Park, Jinseo & Yun, Jinhyuk & Jung, Woo-Sung, 2023. "Quantifying knowledge synchronization with the network-driven approach," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4).
    19. Baudains, Peter & Kalatian, Arash & Choudhury, Charisma F. & Manley, Ed, 2024. "Social inequality and the changing patterns of travel in the pandemic and post-pandemic era," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    20. X. Angela Yao & Andrew Crooks & Bin Jiang & Jukka Krisp & Xintao Liu & Haosheng Huang, 2023. "An overview of urban analytical approaches to combating the Covid-19 pandemic," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(5), pages 1133-1143, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01735-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.