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Rapid design and construction of mobile cabin hospitals (MCHs) have become imperative in the COVID-19 response. However, due to unique design specifications (e.g., parallel design and model pre-revision), collaboration in emergency construction projects (ECPs) like MCHs presents data security vulnerabilities, including a lack of traceability and transparency. These hazards invariably reduce design effectiveness, leading to undesirable rework and project delay. Blockchain technology is a potential solution to address the aforementioned security issues in ECPs because it offers immutable and traceable data storage. Nevertheless, directly implementing blockchain in ECPs is impractical, for the blockchain has a complex deployment process and provides limited functions supporting BIM-based design. Therefore, this paper develops a lightweight blockchain-as-a-service (LBaaS) prototype to enhance the ECPs design efficiency by securing and automating information exchange while eliminating the difficulties of deploying and using blockchain. This paper contributes three elements: (1) Security vulnerabilities of design in ECP are identified. Taking an MCH in Hong Kong as an example, this paper investigates its design process and determines two design characteristics and associated security flaws. (2) Key technologies to support easy deployment and usage of blockchain in ECPs are developed. New technical elements, including a Multi-to-One mapping (MtOM) kit for easy blockchain registration, an integrated workflow retaining existing design practices, and smart contracts for secure interaction with blockchain, are developed to support LBaaS functionality. (3) An LBaaS prototype is validated and evaluated. The prototype is illustrated and evaluated using design examples based on actual MCH project data. Results show that the LBaaS is a feasible and secure approach for ECPs collaboration. This paper deepens the understanding of data security issues in ECPs and offers technical guidance in establishing blockchain solutions. • Identified security vulnerabilities of BIM-based collaboration in emergency construction projects (ECPs). • Exploring the mechanism of integrating ECPs design with a lightweight blockchain-as-a-service (LBaaS). • Developed key technical elements to support functionalities of an LBaaS prototype. • Validated LBaaS prototype via three design examples from an actual mobile cabin hospital project. • Results show that the LBaaS is a practical solution for improving data security and ECP design efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc worldwide. To mitigate the spread of the virus, societies around the world implemented various social control measures and restrictions on mobility. Traditional work practices were upended, leading to a widespread adoption of telecommuting in many cities, effectively turning urban spaces into expansive work-from-home laboratories. The exchange of digitized documents, virtual conversations, and online transactions replaced physical movements and face-to-face communication, allowing for the continuation of productive activities. This shift to telecommuting raises important questions about the impact on traditional business practices and power dynamics in the workplace. It also prompts us to examine how new communication and surveillance tools facilitate collaboration and enhance worker productivity. Furthermore, it is essential to understand how employees navigate and adapt to the opportunities and limitations presented in a teleworking environment. To gain insights into these issues, this paper focuses on the experiences of work-from-home employees in the community of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, using the concept of governmobility as an analytical framework. The findings reveal that telecommuting is enabled by innovative social interaction mechanisms, changes in power dynamics, and the implementation of new discourse and surveillance methods, all of which are contingent on specific work and life conditions. The various experiences of telecommuting, such as working in a home office, in virtual workspaces, and using on-body devices, demonstrate adaptable responses to the emerging opportunities and constraints of telecommuting. These experiences illuminate the intricate ways in which work and life intertwine in both physical and temporal dimensions. • Exploring the mechanisms of governmobility in telecommuting during the Covid-19 pandemic. • Theorizing diverse telecommuting practices and experiences. • Discussing the prospects of telecommuting in the post-Covid world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic congestion has been a persistent problem in cities globally. Theoretically, commuting-related congestion can be relieved by promoting working from home (WFH). Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, WFH arrangement has been encouraged or enforced to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Under these circumstances, it was reported that traffic congestion has been alleviated in many cities. However, changes in congestion patterns within a city have not been studied in-depth. In this study, we analysed the congestion index (CI) at peak hours, when commuting-related congestion is typically most serious, throughout different waves of the pandemic in Hong Kong. Results show that under WFH arrangement, peak-hour congestion has been alleviated. Within a day, morning peak congestion was more relieved. Spatially, significant drops in CI were found not only in the central business district and urban cores but also in some new town areas. This paper has significant implications for urban planners in creating more sustainable cities that duly consider the commuting needs of residents, and cautions against the optimism that WFH can relieve urban transport problems despite jobs-housing imbalance. While the WFH arrangement has potentials to ease commuting congestion, future e-working and transport measures need to take spatial and temporal dimensions into account. • Spatio-temporal dynamics of urban traffic congestion under COVID-19 were captured. • In Hong Kong, work from home had a bigger impact on morning than evening peak. • Morning peak congestion relief was not only limited to the CBD. • The two commuting peaks were identifiable even during work from home periods. • About 25% of planning units had lower peak-hour congestion under the "new normal". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic, an exceptional crisis, sparked the introduction of new digital infrastructure to halt the novel coronavirus's spread. This paper explores how such digital infrastructure's impact might reverberate over the long term, by comparing Singapore, Hong Kong, and mainland China's utilization of digital technology in response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, and their responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. We find that advancements in digital technology since 2003 have boosted governments' surveillance and segregation abilities substantially—most dramatically so in China. Even though some of these new digital interventions are ostensibly designed to be temporary ones to address the needs of the immediate crisis, we argue that the resultant extensions of state power experienced during COVID-19 are likely to have profound long-term effects because they fundamentally affect sociopolitical contexts, institutional capabilities, and digital cultures. We also find that the extent to which governments can extend digital surveillance and segregation abilities during the pandemic is contingent on their respective sociopolitical, institutional, and digital cultural contexts. • COVID-19 pandemic sparked calls for a new digital infrastructure. • We compare 2003 SARS outbreak to COVID-19 pandemic. • New digital technologies increased governments' ability to surveil and segregate. • Their impact on surveillance and segregation will persist post COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it possible to control the covid-19 pandemic in large cities like Hong Kong? Many cities have adopted various mitigation measures to contain the covid-19 pandemic. But few studies have been made to measure the impact of mitigation measures on infection risk at city level such as Hong Kong. This paper introduced three indicators to measure the infection risk of covid-19 under mitigation measures: the infection rate, the primary risk of infection and daily risk of infection. Two factors are introduced to consider the impact of mitigation measures on infection risk in Hong Kong. They are the number of trips per day and the percentage of people wearing face masks. With these two mitigation measures, the daily risk of infection was reduced from 1826.11 per million to 644.58 per million in the peak of covid-19 infection on 2 August 2020. The covid-19 infection risk would be 2.83 times higher if above mitigation measures were not adopted. The covid-19 pandemic continues in 2021 and city governments are strongly recommended to take effective measures to encourage the public to reduce unnecessary trips and wear face mask before the pandemic is fully controlled. • A measure of daily risk of covid-19 infection is introduced. • It is possible to control the covid-19 pandemic in large cities like Hong Kong. • The peak of infection risk would be 2.83 times higher without mitigation measures in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 reported initially in December 2019 led to thousands and millions of people infections, deaths at a rapid scale, and a global scale. Metropolitans suffered serious pandemic problems as the built environments of metropolitans contain a large number of people in a relatively small area and allow frequent contacts to let virus spread through people's contacting with each other. The spread inside a metropolitan is heterogeneous, and we propose that the spatial variation of built environments has a measurable association with the spread of COVID-19. This paper is the pioneering work to investigate the missing link between the built environment and the spread of the COVID-19. In particular, we intend to examine two research questions: (1) What are the association of the built environment with the risk of being infected by the COVID-19? (2) What are the association of the built environment with the duration of suffering from COVID-19? Using the Hong Kong census data, confirmed cases of COVID-19 between January to August 2020 and large size of built environment sample data from the Hong Kong government, our analysis are carried out. The data is divided into two phases before (Phase 1) and during the social distancing measure was relaxed (Phase 2). Through survival analysis, ordinary least squares analysis, and count data analysis, we find that (1) In Phase 1, clinics and restaurants are more likely to influence the prevalence of COVID-19. In Phase 2, public transportation (i.e. MTR), public market, and the clinics influence the prevalence of COVID-19. (2) In Phase 1, the areas of tertiary planning units (i.e., TPU) with more restaurants are found to be positively associated with the period of the prevalence of COVID-19. In Phase 2, restaurants and public markets induce long time occurrence of the COVID-19. (3) In Phase 1, restaurant and public markets are the two built environments that influence the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases. In Phase 2, the number of restaurants is positively related to the number of COVID-19 reported cases. It is suggested that governments should not be too optimistic to relax the necessary measures. In other words, the social distancing measure should remain in force until the signals of the COVID-19 dies out. • A pioneering study to investigate the link between the built environment and the spread of COVID-19. • The first study to utilize a massive built environment sample data in Hong Kong to investigate how built environment affects the spread of COVID-19. • In-depth analysis by employing survival analysis, ordinary least squares, and count data analysis. • Restaurants and public markets are the two built environments that impact the transmission of the COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]