HOW SOME CITIES ‘FLATTENED THE CURVE’ DURING THE 1918 SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC:

Dramatic demographic shifts in the past century have made containing a pandemic increasingly hard. The rise of globalization, urbanization, and larger, more densely populated cities can facilitate a virus’ spread across a continent in a few hours—while the tools available to respond have remained nearly the same. Now as then, public health interventions are the first line of defense against an epidemic in the absence of a vaccine. These measures include closing schools, shops, and restaurants; placing restrictions on transportation; mandating social distancing, and banning public gatherings. (This is how small groups can save lives during a pandemic.)

Read the whole thing.

Earlier: Learning From A Century Of Bad Urban Planning. Or to put it another way: