Resilience of the transit-oriented built environment against COVID-19 transmission: Evidence from major urban communities in Wuhan city

Amid the global health crisis triggered by COVID-19, managing infection spread became an immense challenge for urban areas, particularly in compactly populated areas, highlighting severe deficiencies in resilience planning. This study investigates how features of the built environment within transit-oriented development-guided (TOD-guided) communities influenced COVID-19 transmission patterns in Wuhan. By constructing a novel analytical framework that integrates TOD principles with built environment factors, we examine how these factors influence pandemic spread across different urban and peripheral communities. Utilising a combination of spatial and aspatial statistical techniques, we assess how population density, bus stop density, park density and proximity to medical facilities and parks influence infection rates. The findings reveal that whereas high population density in urban core areas correlates with lower infection rates, medical accessibility and bus stop density are significant determinants of transmission in peripheral regions. Interestingly, proximity to parks is associated with higher infection rates in certain TOD-guided communities. Our spatial analysis underscores the necessity of flexible, location-specific urban-planning measures designed to reinforce cities’ capacity to withstand future health crises. It also provides actionable recommendations for policymakers focused on improving public health resilience in post-pandemic urban development.