The insurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in reflective thinking in respect of how the urban and regional planning profession and cognate disciplines plans, designs and manages urban and public spaces. This has witnessed calls for rethinking ‘old and new’ ways of planning, designing and managing urban and public spaces in response to the ‘new normal’. The COVID-19 and post-COVID planning World presents the unfolding of new chapters in urbanisation with challenges, constraints, threats and opportunities in furthering the inclusivity agenda in human settlements. This theme calls for urban and regional planning theorists/philosophers, practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders to come up with inclusive urban and space designs that are responsive to the Covid-19 pandemic not only for the mega cities but also for small and medium sized towns that are increasingly becoming home to many households. In South Africa, and generally in developing countries, the impact of rural-urban migration, and urban-rural migration is on the increase, and this requires urgent attention to establishing inclusive urban and rural spatial designs that are responsive to rapid urbanization in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as a post COVID-19 planning World.

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