Forskningsprojekt Teknisk och social anpassning till COVID-19-krisen

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed large cities worldwide to unprecedented challenges where urban areas and communities have been hit hard. What we have seen in the Swedish case is that there has been a disconnection between the overarching COVID-19 strategy that has been aimed at the Swedish speaking majority leaving out other communities with fatal consequences. The work to contain the spread of COVID-19 was initially focused on providing the Swedish speaking population with information on how to mitigate contagion risks, thereby impeding early efforts to contain the pandemic among other groups. As COVID-19 is still ongoing we argue it is urgent to understand how local communities are reacting to different restrictions including lockdowns.

Stockholm needs to learn now how global cities elsewhere have raised to the challenge both technologically and socially, and especially in relation to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities or underlying health conditions, single parents, low-income households, ethnic minorities and migrants. This research will uncover and reflect on Wuhan which had a strict lockdown, London and Sydney which imposed less stringent lockdowns compared to Wuhan and Seoul which relied on technology and test and trace systems.

We argue that Stockholm (and Sweden) could learn important lessons from these cities and ‘use the ‘case’ of food supply and access to understand implications at local/ community but also strategic level.

Research questions:

1. What are the COVID-19 pandemic response strategies in the five cities and what are the resulting vulnerability in terms of food access?

2. How do the five cities use technological and social adaptation to cope with the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 crisis in the five cities?