Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the damage caused by the differences in planetary urbanisation and the unpreparedness of public action. How can we prepare ourselves – in terms of producing knowledge, technical solutions and public policies – to challenge the emergencies and un- certainties linked to possible health and environmental catastrophes (with social, spatial and economic consequences)? The article draws a map of preparedness starting from three areas of research – geography, urban design, public action –, which share the assumption of a «critical» view of care as a key to interpreting contemporary reality.