About IPPO Cities

The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) now has a specific cities-and-COVID policy workstream, IPPO Cities, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. It is designed to be a global observatory of city-level policy responses and initiatives during and beyond the pandemic, including recovery strategies that address the long-term social impacts of COVID-19.

At the heart of IPPO Cities’ work will be regular virtual events in which we bring together city policymakers, frontline practitioners, researchers and other specialists from cities all over the world to discuss specific themes. So far we have convened roundtables on the changing uses of urban space during COVID-19, and strategies to address different urban inequalities as part of cities’ recovery plans.

Key questions for IPPO Cities

Throughout 2022, key questions we’ll keep returning to include:

• What pandemic-induced policy and behavioural shifts are here to stay for the long term?
• To what extent have cities been able to use the crisis to tackle underlying systemic issues?
• How have city-level powers shifted, relative to national government, during the pandemic?
• Where are the evidence gaps that policymakers most need help with?

We expect to convene virtual events every four-to-six weeks; these are free and open to all to join. Check our upcoming events page for how to register. Topics we will be addressing soon include:

• How are cities using the pandemic to address systemic issues and build greater resilience against future crises?
• From emergency pandemic measures to ending homelessness for good: what still needs to be done?
• How to address the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on urban mental health and wellbeing.
• The role of local communities and social capital in pandemic recovery.
• Young people’s urban futures post-COVID.
• How has COVID informed the challenges facing ageing cities?
• Honed in emergency: cities’ new digital and data strategies.

For more information about any of these topics or IPPO Cities more generally, please email jeremy.williams@ucl.ac.uk