In the post-pandemic phase: do we need urban planning?

Public institutions and Scientific authorities are working on a world scale on the several hypothesis and prediction for the end of the pandemic. According to Richard Florida, each crisis is followed by a reorganization of the territory and cities since peoples' lifestyle and their ability to adapt has changed. We need to create a new sense of belonging with shared values and this requires quite a long time as well as building high quality public spaces. Digitalization will have a pivotal role: from applications monitoring the risk of contagion to the new ways cities are organized. In such scenario, the question is: do we need urban planning in the post-pandemic phase? Urban planning has always been about managing how cities and territories work both on the medium and long term. As of today, urban planning will turn out to be essential only if it's able to offer an instant answer. The new urban planning should identify those solutions able to predict and manage any future scenarios determined by such a health emergency. In the post-emergency phase, it will be so important to be able to quickly create a map of the whole national territory showing the presence or absence of the "relevant local dimension" for each city. Therefore, thinking about the strategic organization of cities and of the national territory with its several systems - bearing in mind a conscious integration and the concept of smart city - it is a real need and not just a choice.