Neighborhoods and COVID-19: Current research, future directions, and place-based interventions

Emerging studies, primarily in North American and European contexts, have identified various social and built environments as potential determinants of COVID-19 outcomes, including infection, hospitalization, and death. Beyond these direct COVID-19 outcomes, neighborhood characteristics not only play important roles in COVID-19 prevention, such as facilitating spatial access to testing and vaccine uptake, but also are linked with COVID-19-related comorbidities, as well as collateral health outcomes due to mandated lockdowns and social distancing (e.g., mental health, substance use, domestic violence). In this chapter, the authors discuss theoretical mechanisms of neighborhood effects on COVID-19, followed by an overview of current research. They suggest important caveats of current studies and considerations for future research on the neighborhood effects of COVID-19. And finally they discuss existing and future place-based interventions, such as revitalizing outdoor streets for pedestrians and promotion of non-motorized transportation (i.e., active transportation), for COVID-19 prevention and mitigation.