The lived experience of COVID-19 : Housing and Household resilience
Submitted to:
Submitted by:
Dr. Ajith Kaliyath
PARAS MONGIA
INTRODUCTION Key points
“Impacts of COVID-19 can be expected to exacerbate already existing housing-related vulnerabilities, such as poor housing quality and location, housing affordability stresses (including energy poverty), and a range of social, mental and physical health conditions”
• Housing has taken on increasing significance with the COVID19 pandemic. The aim of this project was to evaluate complex interrelated impacts that COVID-19 is having on households with a range of vulnerabilities. • The literature on disaster response reveals the centrality of Vulnerability and resilience in recognizing household inequalities, sensitivities and capabilities in coping with COVID19. • COVID-19 has exacerbated vulnerabilities such as poor housing quality and location, housing affordability, energy poverty, and a range of social, mental and physical health conditions. • The physical and social make-up of apartment buildings and neighborhood encouraged or hindered social integration, and efforts to manage apartment building common spaces seemed to have been differentiated by socio-economic conditions. • COVID-19 income and housing support measures were critically important in supporting household resilience—but also left gaps in support, with implications for resilient responses. • For people spending more time at home, including working from home and homeschooling, efforts to adapt were constrained by the ability to make material changes or to afford energy bills. • COVID-19 particularly exacerbated social isolation where there were weak pre-existing ties and limited digital capability; involuntary separation from family and reduced or cancelled care-worker visits were particularly challenging. •Digital literacy, inclusion and confidence—together with concerns about online security—reveal uneven capabilities and access to support to achieve social connectedness online. •Resilience to disconnection and distance was exhibited in various coping mechanisms; from creating new bonds locally to developing new technological knowledges or curating at-home spaces for self development.
KEY POINTS
Working from home, food and energy practices
• For people working and learning from home, making material changes to their homes formed an essential part of making it ‘work’. • The burden of labour at home fell disproportionately on some householders, yet many showed resilience by using the opportunity to learn and teach new skills. • Cooking and food-related practices increased, not only due to restrictions on eating out but also because of fears of contamination and having more free time.
• Changes in grocery shopping patterns were manifested spatially and temporally with negotiations around food, infection, contamination and trips outside. • Many participants, aware of the growing energy and comfort challenges of being forced to spend more time in poorly designed homes, coped using learned practices; however, their efforts were constrained by the ability to make material changes or to afford energy bills.
We are in this together- and we will get through this , together. Source: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/housing-amid-covid-19-policy-responses-and-challenges-cfdc08a8/
Social relationships, intimacy and digital interactions
Key points • COVID-19 impacted all social relationships, but the degree of impact varied across weak and strong pre-existing ties, and with online capability. • Social isolation and emotional suffering were exacerbated by COVID-19, and involuntary separation from family and reduced or cancelled care-worker visits were found to be particularly challenging. • Participants sought voluntary separation inside their homes to find privacy and intimacy, while issues of acoustic and visual privacy worsened as a result of prolonged time spent within homes. • Digital technology promoted social solidarity in coping with the loss of face-to-face interaction, but it was a poor substitute. • Digital literacy, inclusion and confidence, together with concerns about online security, revealed uneven capabilities and access to support to achieve social connectedness online. • Resilience to disconnection and distance was exhibited in various coping mechanisms—from creating new bonds locally to developing new technological knowledge or curating athome spaces for self development.
The threat is the virus, not the people.
Employment, income, housing finances and local services
Key points •Pre-existing built environment inequalities were exacerbated, such as poor-quality open spaces. •Coping with employment and income loss and income uncertainty revealed a range of strategies as well as uneven pre- and post COVID-19 support. •COVID-19 income and housing support measures were critically important in supporting household resilience. •COVID-19 support left gaps in both income support and health and care with implications for resilient responses. Source: http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-territorial-impact-of-covid-19-managing-the-crisis-across-levels-of-government-d3e314e1/
Social, physical and mental health
Key points •Physical distancing rules and constrained care for older people actually translated into social estrangement and disintegration. •The physical and social make-up of apartment buildings and neighborhood either encouraged or hindered social integration. •The general perception regarding hygiene was that the virus was an external threat that had to be prevented from entering the home. •Experiences of infection control by apartment building management seemed to have been differentiated by socio-economic conditions. • Efforts to cut transmission of COVID-19 also translated into interruptions to essential healthcare services and affected participants’ exercise practices with indirect positive and negative impacts on bodily health. •Mental health effects were shaped by the nature, severity, duration and compounding of stressors.
Source: https://venngage.com/templates/infographics/coping-with-stress-during-a-crisis-infographic-c67c2261-5dcf-449d-9415-147f8b636a69
Source: https://www.who.int/phe/infographics/sustainable-development/en/
SOCIAL WELL BEING
PHYSICAL WELL BEING
MENTAL WELL BEING
OVERALL WELL BEING
Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition
Ten Essential functions of Public Health which impacts living
Source: https://ireland.tricare.mil/Health-Services/Preventive-Care/Community-Health-Nursing
Intersecting issues and policy development options COVID-19 has affected households directly and indirectly: •Directly—through disease (although there were no cases of COVID-19 among our participants) •Indirectly—through limiting employment, loss of income, and restrictions on movement outside the dwelling.
Financial support
Cleanliness
A range of policy interventions, including: •Financial payments and guidelines around housing costs relief •Policing of the restrictions on movement and social distancing •Recommendations for cleaning and sanitising.
Policy Development Options
The resilient responses of participants occurred against a backdrop of intersecting pre-existing vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are described as the result of the intersection between: • Exposure to the impacts of COVID-19 • Sensitivities to harm—pre-existing job security or poverty, health and age, household composition, caring responsibilities • Capabilities to respond—access to financial and social support; agency, power and knowledge and the social/ digital license to use it; resources, decent housing and rights to manage housing needs. Source: https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/65836/AHURI-FinalReport-345-The-lived-experience-of-COVID-19-housing-and-household-resilience.pdf
Urban design
Community cohesion
Building design
Social Housing
C
ONCLUSION
Housing will be key as the world begins its recovery from COVID-19. It can be both the frontline of our defense against this disease and a casualty of its consequences. Here are 5 areas we should be thinking about today
5 ways to tackle the housing crisis after COVID-19 Focus on healthy housing Take action to move forward on the critical housing targets in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Raise awareness of housing as a significant contributor to national economies Employ specific housing finance strategies to help low-income families Provide relief for families at risk of being evicted or of losing their homes
“Thus, housing and its location were found to be a key material mediator of vulnerability and resilience of participants. The important role of housing and urban design in coping with the pandemic suggests that housing policy can play a part in adapting and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for possible future emergencies that may confine people to their homes”