Home, inequalities and care: perspectives from within a pandemic

Abstract

This commentary reflects on how the coronavirus has brought experiences of 'home' into public, policy and media debates. We suggest it has also revealed the significance of links between housing and home on the one hand and relationships and practices of care in the other. We explore these links and, in particular, the importance of intersectionalised inequalities in access to both home and care. We briefly discuss ways of conceptualising these linkages and seeing them as part of broader social and economic relations, arguing for further academic, popular and policy attention to be given to housing and care. KEYWORDS Home; housing; care; intersectionality; pandemic Care, housing and home in a pandemicDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, 'home', has been brought to the centre of public, policy and media debates as never before (Brickell, 2020;Jupp & Bowlby, 2020), as governments across the world have asked populations to 'stay home'. Whilst figured as a simple instruction, the more complex and troubling realities of home have begun to seep into media discussions (eg, Taub, 2020) as well as being experienced within everyday lives in different and unequal ways. As we will go on to discuss, these complex and troubling realities of home are often tied up with questions of care.In considering 'matters of care', Puig de la Bellacasa (2017) suggests the need to think 'with touch' as a way to explore the ethics and politics of care. An appropriate metaphor to use at this moment might be thinking about how pressing down onto a surface can reveal its qualities, as when printing or rubbing (see Figure 1). As the home comes under pressure, as it becomes a more intense site of our everyday lives, qualities and aspects CONTACT Sophie Bowlby

What housing characteristics support seniors? Seniors’ experiences of housing and home in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…"maintaining connections and reducing disconnections"; and "creating a sense of home". This study reinforces the findings of other research about age-friendly housing characteristics (Bridge et al, 2006;Howden-Chapman et al, 2017) and the heightened significance of housing functionality for seniors during a pandemic (Bowlby and Jupp, 2020;Mass Design Group, 2020;Power and Mee, 2020). The themes "dwelling features" and "dwelling location" show the important aspects of the material living environment that enhance seniors' comfort and well-being.…”

“…Sharing facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom has been found to increase exposure to the virus (Raynor et al, 2020). Adequate storage is important for resilience, because it enables the household to store hygiene products and food in bulk, preventing multiple shopping trips that expose individuals to infection (Bowlby and Jupp, 2020;Horne et al, 2020;Mass Design Group, 2020).…”

“…Moreover, it is the site from which household members connect with their community (Saunders and Williams, 1988). Of critical importance to this study is how the home, encompassing housing materialities and subjective experiences and meanings, enables seniors to be protected and cared for during a pandemic (Bowlby and Jupp, 2020). It is not only whether the material characteristics of housing – such as location, typology, size, layout, condition, amenities and tenure – enable care, protection and interactions with others but also how those material dimensions combine with ontological aspects of home to affect seniors’ resilience and well-being.…”

Shadow care infrastructures: Sustaining life in post-welfare cities

“…Declared as an emergency health response, welfare states’ activities are being restructured, with growing provision of care albeit often through temporary programs, while maintaining an overarching focus on the recovery of free market economics (Béland et al, 2020; Fisher et al, 2020; Rogers and Power, 2020; Springer, 2020). Concurrently, new care infrastructures have emerged outside the state, with not-for-profit agencies taking up new roles, and individuals setting up neighbourhood networks to address unmet essential needs (Bowlby and Jupp, 2020; Jupp, 2022; Manzo and Minello, 2020). The question of how state welfare intersects with these other care infrastructures will become only more vital in post-COVID-19, post-welfare cities.…”

The Meaning of Home in Male Migration: Listening to Men’s Experiences

“…The home is the foundation for developing a well-lived life (O' Shaughnessy et al 2021). Home represents a significant setting for self-care and for care relationships among people living in or visiting the dwelling (Bowlby and Jupp. 2020).…”