The Covid-19 crisis has amplified spatial inequalities

The economic and social crisis induced by Covid-19 is unfolding in different ways across the country. New evidence from the National Income Dynamics Study: Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) reveals that the pandemic has widened pre-existing inequalities between cities and rural areas. Within cities, it has magnified the gap between suburbs, townships and informal settlements.

A premature withdrawal of government relief schemes could aggravate the hardship and suffering in poor communities that have come to rely on these resources following the jobs slump.

This article, based on a 2020 research report by Visagie and Turok, analyses the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on different types of locality and region.

Abstract based directly on original source.