Berlin and COVID-19

Berlin and COVID-19

While disease describes a body’s pathological state, space of disease is the spatio-temporal condition that allows disease to come into existence. Conceptually speaking, a space of disease both preconditions a disease and holds it in place for a certain time. Although the majority of the widespread diseases that European cities have encountered over the last three hundred years are highly treatable by medicine today, the spatial measures that were once essential to countering these epidemics still form the conceptual base upon which numerous spatial devices continue to operate, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. While various spaces of disease were subject to continuous change, the spatial concepts themselves persisted.

The first part of the eBook “The Space of Disease” retains a historical review of the city of Berlin by reflecting upon specific historical implementations of spatial measures used to control disease within the city. The text demonstrates that the various spatial concepts underlying different historical spatial measures are indeed continuous.

The second part of the eBook “Berlin and COVID-19” investigates Berlin’s actions to take control over the spreading of COVID-19 by spatial means of confining, preventing and treating the disease. The Corona Treatment Centre Berlin (CTCB), a completely new building typology for patients in need of general care, is examined and described at length.

This publication bundle includes the following format: PDF