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The objectives are to, for neighborhoods with different levels of social capital, (1) map out the levels of social interactions, emotional support, and instrumental support before the COVID-19 crisis, (2) analyze how social interactions, emotional support, and instrumental support had changed during the pandemic and, (3) analyze changes in self-rated health during the pandemic. This study is based on a telephone survey with a subsample of 168 respondents in Umeå municipality who participated in a large base-line social capital survey in 2006. We asked whether neighbors talk to, care for, and help each other, before and during the Covid crisis. Individuals rated their health as poor or good. We compared people's self-rated health and their perceptions about their neighborhoods between those who lived in high or low/medium social capital neighborhoods. Before the pandemic, participants in high social capital neighborhoods reported more active neighborhood interaction and support. During the crisis, social interaction and support increased in all neighborhoods, but more in high social capital neighborhoods. Overall, people seemed to help and care for each other more during than before the crisis. More individuals in the high social capital neighborhoods reported improvement in their health during the pandemic, than those in the low/medium social capital neighborhoods. Our findings indicate that neighborhoods social capital can be strengthened during a crisis, in particular in areas with existing high levels of social capital. The findings need to be interpreted carefully due to its small sample size but observed patterns warrant further investigation.

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Santosa et al. Social Capital for Social Sustainability Dissemination: The dissemination goals of this project are (1) sustained engagement of key stakeholders throughout the project and (2) dissemination of the research findings through popular science, conferences, and scientific papers.

The development of social capital is acknowledged as key for sustainable social development. Little is known about how social capital changes over time and how it correlates with sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. This study was conducted in 46 neighbourhoods in Umeå Municipality, northern Sweden. The aim was to examine neighbourhood-level characteristics associated with changes in neighbourhood social capital and to discuss implications for local policies for sustainable social development. We designed an ecological study linking survey data to registry data in 2006 and 2020. Over 14 years, social capital increased in 9 and decreased in 15 neighbourhoods. Higher levels of social capital were associated with specific sociodemographic factors, but these differed in urban and rural areas. Urban neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of older pensioners (OR = 1.49, CI: 1.16–1.92), children under 12 (OR= 2.13, CI: 1.31–3.47), or a lower proportion of foreign-born members (OR= 0.32, CI: 0.19–0.55) had higher odds for higher social capital levels. In rural neighbourhoods, a higher proportion of single-parent households was associated with higher levels of social capital (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.04–1.98). Neighbourhood socioeconomic factors such as income or educational level did not influence neighbourhood social capital. Using repeated measures of social capital, this study gives insights into how social capital changes over time in local areas and the factors influencing its development. Local policies to promote social capital for sustainable social development should strive to integrate diverse demographic groups within neighbourhoods and should increase opportunities for inter-ethnic interactions.