Housing Vulnerability and COVID-19 Outbreaks: When Crises Collide

Abstract

When communities face infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, their resilience is largely dependent on their social vulnerability. Housing, which functions as a precipitator and outcome of vulnerability, needs to be considered in this context. Using geospatial data, we developed a housing vulnerability index which demonstrates that COVID-19 transmission hotspots in Melbourne are potentially related to where and how people live–which in turn impacts their capacity to isolate. This analysis provides a means of both retrospectively and prospectively highlighting socio-spatial vulnerabilities that can impact transmission, suggesting that addressing some of Melbourne’s housing problems might reduce COVID-19 transmission.