Viruses, particles, and other matters in metropolitan Milan

During the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic the Metropolitan City of Milan was Italy’s most affected urban area. While people had to wear a mask to protect themselves from infection, the virus unmasked the long-standing problems of air pollution, which have been affecting Milan for the past decades. After an ESA satellite image depicted smog decrease over the north of Italy, debates with regards to the linkage between air pollution and COVID-19 rose. For one, scientists argued that smog particles served as carrier for the virus, contributing to its spreading. Furthermore, it is known that exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter increases the susceptibility to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, that can worsen the health status of those infected by the novel coronavirus. This debate serves as the basis for my critical essay. Building on these two points, I look at this problem in a higher level of detail, with the purpose of discovering other common denominators behind the pandemic and air pollution. With this approach, I draw attention to the numerous and multidimensional connections and areas linked with the two topics, which are typically overlooked at first sight. Given the rapid increase in urbanisation, landscape architects and urban planners need to address these uprising issues and define more interdisciplinary strategies to counteract them. Following Donna Haraway’s call to respond to these troubled times, we are challenged to uncover the systemic links, to start thinking globally and find better ways of coexisting.