Abstract
Our systematic neglect of universal human needs of shelter, health
and safety is set to make the poorer sections disproportionately more
vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic which the whole world is now
struggling to contain. Architecture must carry a burden of guilt as
present configurations of urban built environment normalise
socio-spatial injustice and perpetuate capitalist fictions. Here, we
interrogate how architecture can reclaim its social relevance,
particularly in cities of the Global South, when the post-pandemic
society adopts more socio-environmentally sustainable, ‘new normal’
lifestyles to build community resilience.