How to prevent the next pandemic: exploring the relationship between built environment, socioeconomic factors and the pandemic

Identifying vulnerable communities and influential factors are important for urban health policy and preventing the pandemic. We investigate the spatial pattern and determinants of pandemic infection in Shanghai at the community level. We examine the effect of the built environment and socioeconomic factors on the infection of the pandemic across communities. We find that the built environment influences the risk of pandemic infections. The internal environment and community characteristics, including property management quality and density, are more important than the external environment mainly including place-based factors. Of place-based factors, distance to the hospital and distance to the pharmacy are positively related to pandemic infections. Local governance can mitigate the risk of pandemic infection. Our study provides references for identifying vulnerable communities, preventing pandemics and improving urban health.