Compact living or policy inaction? Effects of urban density and lockdown on the COVID-19 outbreak in the US

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus pandemic has reignited the debate over urban density. Popular media has been quick to blame density as a key contributor to rapid disease transmission, questioning whether compact cities are still a desirable planning goal. Past research on the density–pandemic connection have produced mixed results. This article offers a critical perspective on this debate by unpacking the effects of alternative measures of urban density, and examining the impacts of mandatory lockdowns and the stringency of other government restrictions on cumulative Covid-19 infection and mortality rates during the early phase of the pandemic in the US. Our results show a consistent positive effect of density on Covid-19 outcomes across urban areas during the first six months of the outbreak. However, we

SUBMITTER:  

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9755044 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature