This paper explores the intersection of informal settlements and pandemic resilience. The study emphasizes the historical context of pandemics and their correlation with urban design, highlighting the pivotal role of urban planning and architectural interventions in curtailing disease transmission. The methodology involves a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature from databases like PubMed, JSTOR, and Google Scholar, focusing on keywords related to informal settlements, urban interventions, architecture, and pandemics. The selected articles, primarily from 2020, undergo comparative analysis, leading to the development of a conceptual framework for pandemic resilience in informal settlements. Results from the literature review are presented in two sections: «Informal Settlements and Pandemics» and «Informal Settlements and COVID-19.» Findings underscore overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate infrastructure as contributors to disease transmission. Case studies emphasize the significance of enhanced waste and water infrastructures, proper drainage, and improved housing design for pandemic prevention. Difficulties implementing public health guidelines, such as social distancing, in these settings are revealed. Additionally, digital connectivity disparities and multifactorial vulnerabilities of informal settlements to COVID-19 are explored. In conclusion, the study advocates for rethinking urban planning and architectural design to address vulnerabilities in informal settlements during pandemics, providing insights for post-pandemic urban remodeling, and emphasizing resilience in future health crises.

Mongolia has been facing an onslaught of rural migration to the urban areas with negative consequences. Traditionally the country's economy was based on a survival livestock herding. Nowadays, the country's economic prospects are bright due to rich and abundant mineral deposits. Some researchers believe Mongolia will be the next Dubai. However, the general panorama of the country is not completely brilliant. In Mongolia's growing cities migrants have erected rural nomadic felt tents, known as a ger. The traditional ger are sustainable structures very well adapted for a nomadic society but, when they are located in high-density, unplanned, informal settlements they create many issues. These informal urban areas lack sanitation, adequate vehicular access and other basic services. The traditional use of wood and coal for heating contributes to heavy air pollution, especially in winter. This paper presents some of the findings of more than 100 householder surveys, held in the summer of 2011, related to housing conditions in four informal Ger districts of Ulaanbaatar. This paper describes some aspects of ger households, discusses how quickly the Ger districts are growing and explains their relation to the increasing problems of the city. Finally it concludes how Mongolia needs to develop and grow according with sustainable parameters or its pristine nature and cultural values such as the vernacular architecture will be lost.