The impacts of the built environment on the incidence rate of COVID-19: A case study of King County, Washington

• Published in: Sustainable cities and society Vol. 74; p. 103144
• Main Authors: Liu, Chao, Liu, Zerun, Guan, ChengHe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2021; Published by Elsevier Ltd
• Subjects: Air quality; Built environment; MLR; Post COVID-19 pandemic; Socioeconomic factors; Sustainability; Urban density; Urban planning; Post COVID-19 pandemic; MLR; Urban planning; Sustainability; Socioeconomic factors; Air quality; Built environment; Urban density
• ISSN: 2210-6707; 2210-6715
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103144

•Focus on the impacts of built environment on incidence rate of COVID-19 in metropolitan area.•Multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression models are built at the ZIP code scale.•Socioeconomic indicators are the primary factors influencing COVID-19.•Built environment density is positively associated with incidence rates.•Increased open space is conducive to reducing incidence rates and overcrowded households leads to an increase in incidence rates. With COVID-19 prevalent worldwide, current studies have focused on the factors influencing the epidemic. In particular, the built environment deserves immediate attention to produce place-specific strategies to prevent the further spread of coronavirus. This research assessed the impact of the built environment on the incidence rate in King County, US and explored methods of researching infectious diseases in urban areas. Using principal component analysis and the Pearson correlation coefficient to process the data, we built multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression models at the ZIP code scale. Results indicated that although socioeconomic indicators were the primary factors influencing COVID-19, the built environment affected COVID-19 cases from different aspects. Built environment density was positively associated with incidence rates. Specifically, increased open space was conducive to reducing incidence rates. Within each community, overcrowded households led to an increase in incidence rates. This study confirmed previous research into the importance of socioeconomic variables and extended the discussion on spatial and temporal variation in the impacts of urban density on the spread of COVID, effectively guiding sustainable urban development. [Display omitted]