The COVID-19 Response in North America: A Series Premiere
The North American team of Oxford Urbanists would like to present a monthly series covering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in North American cities. This launch article focuses on the presentation of digestible data as a reference for additional stories in the series. Our goal is to explore the nuances behind North American cities’ condition and response to the pandemic by using their capitals as a benchmark. Upcoming articles will include a comparative analysis of New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, Ecatepec de Morelos, and Guadalajara.
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North America: A Capital Analysis
North America covers more than 9 million square miles yet is home to less than 10 percent of the world’s population. Of the approximately 550 million people in North America, nearly 7 percent live in Canada, 23 percent in Mexico, and 60 percent in the United States. Our examination of the current urban conditions on the North American continent will focus specifically on cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These three countries collectively represent 89 percent of North America’s land area and 85 percent of the North American population. Moreover, more than a fifth of recorded COVID-19 cases and deaths have been on the continent.
Canada
Covering more than 3.8 million square miles and inhabited by more than 38 million people, Canada finds its population density approximately as 9.6 people per square mile. As of November 11, the country has seen approximately 273,000 total cases and 10,600 deaths, representing approximately .5 percent and 1 percent of globally recorded cases and deaths, respectively. A fatality rate of 5.2 percent places Canada as both the least population-dense country and least infected country of the three examined.
Source: Marc-Olivier Jodoin
Ottawa
The national response to COVID-19 is embodied in Canada’s capital city. Ottawa Public Health’s website features a lightweight and responsive data dashboard for case status, time trend, outbreaks, testing, and other monitoring indicators. Ottawa’s Public Health services approximately 1 million people, so far recording nearly 7,700 cases and 347 deaths recorded as of November 11th, 2020.
Mexico
Mexico covers approximately 760,000 miles, and is the second-most populous country in North America with approximately 128 million inhabitants. Nationally, more than 979,000 cases and over 95,000 deaths have been recorded as of this week. Reliable, and more importantly, available data on Mexico’s COVID-19 testing, active case, and public health infrastructure impacts are sparse, especially compared to the United States and Canada. Mexico’s recorded case and death totals represent 2.2 percent and 8.3 percent of global cases and deaths respectively.
Source: Bhargava Marripati
Mexico City
Mexico City is the most populous city in North America and the 5th most populous city in the world, while also home to more than 21 million people, according to the UN. The lack of current and reliable COVID-19 statistics for Mexico is most evident in the availability of data for its capital city, and one of the largest cities in the world. Most recently, the capital of Mexico found itself handling more than 139,000 recorded cases and approximately 14,000 deaths, but numbers could be much higher. Compared to Ottawa and Washington D.C., there is a lack of testing per citizen, and total tests taken, that is readily available by either the municipality or a third-party data collector.
United States
The most populous country in North America, the United States, covers approximately 3.8 million square miles with 330 million people. As of this week, there are approximately 10.3 million total cases recorded in the United States, with over 240,00 deaths, according to the latest figures. This represents nearly 21 percent of globally recorded COVID-19 cases and deaths, while housing less than 5 percent of the world’s population.
Source: Jorge Alcala
Washington DC
To examine the urban response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the capital of Washington D.C. will be used as a benchmark for American cities. As of November 11th, 2020, there were 567,000 total overall tests, including from 270,000 individual District of Columbia citizens. There are currently over 18,000 cases and 65 deaths, resulting in an approximately 4 percent fatality rate (deaths/cases).
Moving Forward During “The Great Lockdown”
The grim metrics examined provide a statistical backbone for the ongoing analysis series of the urban COVID-19 response in North America. Two cities from each country will be examined together, with focuses on their unique and varied urban responses.
Canada—and Ottawa, in particular—set an example of precision and thoughtfulness in data presentation. The Ottawa dashboard sets a precedent for availability and transparency, even though the total volume of COVID-19 cases are lower in Canada than currently observed in the rest of North America. Despite widespread availability of COVID-19 tracking data, a foundation can be laid to examine how the ongoing pandemic has affected the qualitative components of everyday life.
In the following articles, the North American urban response to COVID-19 will be examined through a diverse set of lenses, including public health infrastructure, homelessness, public amenities, and the ensuing economic recovery—for both businesses, and individuals.
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Satvik Mishra is a resource economist at the United States Department of Agriculture, where he conducts economic analysis and regulatory policy development for the USDA and other agencies. Satvik is completing his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at Georgetown University, and is interested in sustainable land-use, green infrastructure, and urban welfare. He hopes to combine his expertise in algorithm design, resource economics, and policy development to further understand and maintain a healthy urban environment.