Lockdown and adaptation: residential mobility in Spain during the COVID-19 crisis

ABSTRACT

The movement of individuals across territories has been shown to be a primary vector of COVID-19 transmission. As a result, lockdown policies have been decreed in many countries to stop the spread of the disease. Using information from an online survey conducted in Spain, we found a significant number of residential moves made in response to the lockdown. The current context has created new triggers for residential mobility: economic problems, feelings of fear and loneliness, the search for better housing and situations in which to spend the lockdown, and the need to be cared for and to care for others. This paper analyses the residential changes that occurred in Spain during the 2020 lockdown and the later de-escalation period, focusing on movement triggers, motivations and destinations. The results show how residential mobility changes, but also persists even when restricted, fuelled by the conditions of each social group, both pre-existing and generated by the new situation.

KEYWORDS:

• Residential mobility
• lockdown
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Unidad de Excelencia Desigualdad, Derechos Humanos Q4 y Sostenibilidad (DEHUSO), funded by the University of Granada through the Plan Propio de Investigación 2019.

Notes on contributors

Ricardo Duque-Calvache

Ricardo Duque-Calvache is a PhD in Sociology and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology in the University of Granada (Spain). His formation included some research stays in different universities in Europe and the United States. His research topics are focused in urban studies and demography, with special attention to residential behaviour, metropolitan areas, gentrification processes and, more recently, changes in mobility and everyday life due to COVID-19.

José Manuel Torrado

José Manuel Torrado holds a PhD in Sociology by the University of Granada and teaches in the Department of Sociology, University of Huelva. His research topics are urban sociology, demography and human geography, with a special focus on the analysis of residential behavior, flows of residential mobility and the study delimitation, and classification of spaces based on social and functional criteria.

Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas

Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas is a social researcher and PhD student in Social Sciences in the University of Granada. Her main area of interest is the social construction of public spaces in the cities. In a broader sense, her topics and professional experience include different social realities linked to spatial dimensions.