Related
Paper
/ Jan 31,2024
Socio-Spatial Inequality and the Effects
of Density on COVID-19 Transmission in US Cities
Nov 18,2015
Civic Analytics Team Authors Article
in Inaugural Nature Cities Issue
+ Constantine Kontokosta, Bartosz Bończak
Director of Civic Analytics, Constantine Kontokosta, along with Research Scientist Bartosz Bończak and Fellow Boyeong Hong, published “Socio-Spatial Inequality and the Effects of Density on COVID-19 Transmission in US Cities” in the inaugural issue of Nature Cities, which examines the effect of density on COVID-19 infection rates at the neighborhood scale. The abstract notes:
Our findings demonstrate a nonlinear relationship between urban density and infection rates, with higher-density neighborhoods more likely to adopt mitigating behaviors to reduce transmission. However, low-income and minority communities, facing cascading health challenges, are found to be least able to modify mobility behavior and therefore experienced a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection risk during the first wave of the pandemic.