Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for urban informal housing and planning interventions: Evidence from Singapore

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the crucial role of social distancing and hygiene practices in reducing virus transmission and thus revealed the high risk of infection in urban informal housing. Through an empirical study of Singapore's infectious situation and antiepidemic measures, this paper shows that the number of infected migrant workers living in dormitories was three hundred times greater than the number of infected local urban residents, not only because of the migrants' ‘vulnerable’ position but also because their living conditions fostered widespread transmission of the virus. The dwelling conditions of migrant dormitories, such as overcrowded living spaces, widely shared sanitation facilities, and poor hygiene practices, present great challenges to standard prevention strategies and control measures. Adverse health impacts resulting from the lockdown of dormitories during the COVID-19 pandemic suggest the importance of planning intervention in the dwelling conditions of informal housing, and indicate a need for the governments' active reforms of building codes and health care systems to promote the health of disadvantaged groups and then create more inclusive and healthy cities for all the society.