COVID-19 hits poor urban communities hardest

A central feature of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been its uniform, place-blind character. The lockdown was applied like a blanket across the whole country, along with standard financial relief schemes for households and businesses. Nationwide measures seemed fair and mostly straightforward to implement. However, new evidence reveals that the spatial impact of the twin health and economic crises that have resulted from the pandemic has been very uneven.