COVID-19 responses: infrastructure inequality and privileged capacity to transform everyday life in South Africa

Throughout the early months of 2020, COVID-19 rapidly changed how the world functioned, with the closure of borders, schools and workplaces, national lockdowns, and the rapid normalization of “self-isolation” and “social distancing”. However, while public health recommendations were broadly universa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and urbanization 2021-04, Vol.33 (1), p.255-272
Main Authors: De Groot, Jiska, Lemanski, Charlotte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borders
Closure
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Education reform
Everyday life
Inequality
Infrastructure
Public health
Public schools
Schools
Social privilege
Urban poverty
Workplaces
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Summary:Throughout the early months of 2020, COVID-19 rapidly changed how the world functioned, with the closure of borders, schools and workplaces, national lockdowns, and the rapid normalization of “self-isolation” and “social distancing”. However, while public health recommendations were broadly universal, human capacity to accordingly transform everyday life has differed significantly. We use the example of South Africa to highlight the privileged nature of the ability to transform one’s life in response to COVID-19, arguing that the virus both highlights and exacerbates existing inequalities in access to infrastructure. For those living in urban poverty in South Africa, where access to basic infrastructure is limited, and where overcrowding and high density are the norm, it is frequently impossible to transform daily life in the required ways. The failure of global public health recommendations to recognize these inequalities, and to adapt advice to national and local contexts, reveals significant limitations that extend beyond this specific global pandemic.
ISSN:0956-2478
1746-0301
DOI:10.1177/0956247820970094