Cities, as places of social interactions and human relationships, face new challenges, problems, and threats, which are sources of stress for residents. An additional cause of stress in recent years has been the COVID-19 pandemic; it was urban dwellers who were most exposed to the virus and most affected by it. Chronic stress has led to the serious erosion of physical health and psychophysical well-being among urban dwellers, and so there is a need to seek new solutions in terms of building the resilience of cities and their residents to stress. This study aims to verify the hypothesis that greenery reduced the level of stress among urban dwellers during the pandemic. The verification of this hypothesis was achieved based on a literature analysis and the results of geo-questionnaire studies conducted involving 651 residents of Poznan—among the largest of Polish cities, where the share of green areas in the spatial structure is more than 30%. According to the analysis, the interviewees experienced above-average stress levels that went up during the pandemic, and the source was not so much the virus but the restrictions imposed. Green areas and outdoor activities helped in reducing this stress (being surrounded by and looking at greenery, garden work, or plant cultivation). Residents perceive a post-pandemic city as one that is more green, in which priority is given to unmanaged green areas. It has also been pointed out that a response to the reported need for urban re-construction towards stress resilience may be a biophilic city.

Miasta na ścieżce rozwoju napotykają wiele różnego pochodzenia zagrożeń, ryzyk i katastrof, nazywanych ogólnie stresorami. Obecnie, w warunkach globalizacji, oprócz tradycyjnych zagrożeń pojawiają się wciąż nowe (globalne kryzysy gospodarcze, zmiany klimatyczne, zagrożenia terrorystyczne, pandemie, jak w ostatnim czasie Covid-19 itp.), których skutki często są trudne do przewidzenia. Sytuacja taka skłania do podejmowania działań, mających na celu unikanie lub łagodzenie efektów oddziaływania stresorów, a przez to zapewnienie trwałości rozwoju miast. Chodzi więc o budowanie city resilience. W niniejszym artykule miasto traktowane jest jako złożony, dynamiczny system, którego trwanie i rozwój zależy od odpowiedniego planowania działań na rzecz budowania odporności miast. Resilience rozumiane jest przy tym nie w kategoriach statycznych, ale raczej jako umiejętność elastycznego dopasowywania się czy adaptowania do zmieniających się uwarunkowań. Wskazywana jest sekwencja działań, które w procesach planistycznych powinny zostać zachowane, aby odpowiednio przygotować system miasta na potencjalne ryzyka i zagrożenia. Chodzi o identyfikację stresorów, badanie wrażliwości systemu miasta na ich oddziaływanie, analizę możliwych skutków działania stresora oraz przyjęcie konkretnej strategii działania. Podkreślane jest przy tym znaczenie redundancji, społeczeństwa obywatelskiego, analizy rozmieszczenia zagrożeń i ryzyk w przestrzeni miasta oraz ich zmian w czasie.

This article analyzes the correlation between the city size, population density and character of three Polish cities and the following aspects: (1) inhabitants’ subjective stress level and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) sources and effects of their stress during the pandemic, (3) ways of reducing stress by residents and the role of greenery in this respect and (4) directions of changes in the structure of post-pandemic cities desired by their residents. The main research method was geo-surveys, the results of which were developed using statistical analysis and GIS methods. On the basis of the constructed scale, respondents subjectively assessed the level of experienced stress and its change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research shows that none of the considered features of cities (including size measured by the number of inhabitants) are related to the level of pandemic stress of their inhabitants. All of them, on the other hand, are correlated with the directions of urban spatial development desired by the residents, conducive to stress reduction. Furthermore, the size of the city and its character affect the subjectively perceived change in stress levels during the pandemic (compared to the stress level before pandemic). Some of the effects of pandemic stress and ways of reducing it depend on the character of the city. The stress experienced by the inhabitants is the lowest in cities with the largest share of green areas in the spatial structure (especially with forest complexes and naturally shaped areas of river valleys), where an effective system of greenery has been adopted (the Howard’s garden city model), and at the same time with dominant single-family housing. The research results were used to indicate new directions for shaping post-pandemic cities that are more resistant to stress and thus healthier for their residents.

Long-lasting (chronic) stress leads to many adverse effects in living organisms. In this study, the city is perceived as an organism. Thus, the recognition of physiological mechanisms of stress response and coping with it in an organism will help identify and develop similar defence mechanisms in urban organisms. This study proposes a multidisciplinary approach and is aimed at applying the stress response mechanisms of living organisms to cities in order to build stress resilience in case of threat. The long-term impact assessment effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions and lockdowns introduced are of particular interest. In the review, we present a theoretical, multidisciplinary approach to building a stress-resilient city suitable for academics and a global audience, and propose concrete strategies for city policymakers to cope with stressors at the level of its inhabitants as well as regulations and management. Mitigation, re-construction, and new urban governance have been recognised as such strategies and likened to shortand long-term stress responses of living organisms. Thus, we have offered policymakers a solution for building a resilient city. A novel model of environmental governance, propositions of intervention, and recommendations have been created that could be used by local city authorities to rebuild citizens’ resilience in post-pandemic times.