Menu
City Know-hows
Target audience
For the attention of: Psychologists, psychotherapists and built environment policy-makers and public health practitioners.
The problem
The most common measure of prevention that governments around the world implemented to contain the COVID virus was mandatory lockdowns. These lockdowns affected not only interpersonal relations, but also the mood of residents and urban dwellers.
What we did and why
We investigated the association between household density/overcrowding and self-reported mood levels during a COVID-19 lockdown. Using data collected through an online survey carried out during the lockdown in Ecuador, a small developing country, we estimated an ordered probit model. An ordered probit model is a statistical technique used to estimate relationships between a dependent variable and a set of independent variables. Our results confirm that higher levels of household density/overcrowding are related to lower levels of self-reported mood.
Our study’s contribution
We reveal;
Higher levels of household density/overcrowding are related to lower levels of self-reported mood.
A negative relationship between household density and reported mood during quarantine is significant for those who were born in 1969–1980 and 1994–2010, the so-called X and Z generations, respectively. However this association is not significant for those who were born in 1949–1968 and 1981–1993, known as baby boomers and generation Y, respectively.
Impacts for city policy and practice
From a public policy perspective, our results suggest that efforts to improve living conditions in terms of dwelling space should be particularly aimed at age groups that may be more vulnerable to overcrowding. Some of these strategies could include credits for home improvement, with preferential interest rates and longer periods within which to pay them.
Further information
Full research article:
Associations between household density and mood during COVID-19 lockdowns: evidence from Ecuador by Juan Pablo Díaz-Sánchez (@juanpadiaz21), Cintya Lanchimba, Franklin Velasco and Mariel Paz y Miño
Related posts
We used a case study approach to highlight potential radical health tools that could be embedded in research projects to enable us to understand more about how nature impacts health and wellbeing.
Walking around the neighborhood is good for older adults health, but the way older adults perceive their surroundings can affect this behavior. This topic has been discussed for some time in high-income countries. There, it is observed that older adults who live in neighborhoods with high residential density, diverse land use, good road connectivity, access to public transport, pleasant aesthetics, security against crime and traffic, presence of recreational facilities, infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, green spaces and visible parts of the sky are more likely to walk, whether for utilitarian or recreational purposes. On the other hand, in Latin American countries such as Brazil, where there is a significant increase in the older adults population and challenges related to urbanization and social inequalities, the relationship between the characteristics perceived of neighborhoods by the older adults and walking behavior is still unknown.
Looking into an urban transformation of a low-income settlement in Maputo, Mozambique, through the behaviours and experiences of pedestrians, shows that physical interventions to the walking environment contribute to the ability of diverse individuals to exercise their Right to the City.
