Box 1.10: Identifying weak spots in Gauteng, South Africa

people at an increased risk of severely reacting to COVID-19 or having difficulty recovering from it.60 This has implications not only in North America, where much of the existing research on the health implications of suburban living has been conducted, but also in cities across Asia, Africa and other regions where rapid growth is increasingly defined by sprawl and suburban development, not to mention poorly managed peri-urbanization.

While accurate infection rates remain difficult to obtain, it is clear that communities living in weak spots are at heightened vulnerability to COVID-19 due to housing conditions, pollution and limited access to health services. At the same time, certain measures employed to curb the virus have also had a disproportionate impact, limiting the capacity of communities to implement a context-specific response while sustaining livelihoods during the pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns. Urgent remedial action, targeted at these weak spots and their most vulnerable populations, is needed to ensure that cities and metropolitan regions have the resilience to make a long-term recovery.

Box 1.10: Identifying weak spots in Gauteng, South Africa

The Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) has conducted various studies on the spatial and socio-economic factors that make Gauteng’s inhabitants more vulnerable to COVID-19. GCRO compiled a total of six risk factors that are considered to be impediments to maintaining preventative hygiene and social distancing: household crowding, shared sanitation, no access to clean running water on site, reliance on public health facilities, lack of access to electronic communication and dependence on public transport. The results reveal that on average the level of risk in townships is significantly higher.61

Figure 1.11: COVID-19 index of risk factors to maintain social distance and preventative hygiene

Covid-19: Index of risk factors to maintaining social distance and preventative hygiene

Risk factors: the percentage of respondents per ward who live in crowded dwellings, have no access to flush toilets, have no access to piped water, use public healthcare facilities, have no access to electronic communication and rely on public transport 0%-15% 15.1% - 25% 25.1% - 35% 35.1% - 45% 45.1% - 63.3% Municipalities in Gauteng

Source: GCRO

GCRO Qol V (2017/18)

0 10 20 40 60