Urbanization and the Risk of Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Case Study Approach

Abstract

This research contends that modern processes of expanded urbanization (UB), encompassing subUB, post-subUB, and peri-UB, lead to heightened susceptibility to the transmission of infectious diseases. By examining the current literature on the intersection of UB and contagious illnesses, the research analyzes how the possible heightened susceptibility to infectious diseases in peri-urban or suburban regions is dialectically connected to socio-material changes at the metropolitan periphery. The research emphasizes three critical aspects identified in the study that influence the dissemination of infectious diseases: population change, facilities, and governance. These have been selected due to the significance of these themes and their influence on disease dissemination at the urban periphery. The research proposes that the landscape environmental politics paradigm can effectively analyze the impact of socio-ecological transitions on the greater likelihood of infectious diseases in peri-urban and suburban regions. The research will utilize examples from diverse re-emerging infectious illness occurrences and epidemics globally to demonstrate how extensively UB has exacerbated circumstances conducive to the proliferation of transmissible illnesses. Therefore, the research advocates for future studies on the spatial dynamics of health and disease to consider how diverse patterns of extensive UB affect possible outbreaks and how these hazards can be mitigated