Longitudinal analyses of the relationship between development density and the COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates: Early evidence from 1,165 metropolitan counties in the United States

A longitudinal study of the impact of human mobility on the incidence of COVID-19 in India

“…Furthermore, these crowded markets are often located within pockets of poverty, suggesting that the socioeconomic dynamics of localities might have influenced how the virus spread through communities. The findings support previous research (Hamidi et al, 2020;Hawkins et al, 2020;, which have established that socioeconomic factors play an important role in COVID-19 prevalence in the USA. We computed and mapped the mean monthly mobility levels from GCMR data for grocery and pharmacy-related trips to corroborate the model results.…”

Compact development and adherence to stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal investigation in the United States

“…Previous studies show that compact areas typically have better transit systems and higher ridership than sprawling areas ( Ewing and Hamidi, 2017 , Hamidi and Ewing, 2014 ). Compact areas and major cities are also the most vulnerable to the early advent of pandemic outbreaks and could likely experience a higher number of infections and deaths ( Hamidi et al, 2020 , Hamidi et al, 2020 ). Consequently, the residents of compact areas have a greater exposure to the first-hand information about the susceptibility to the virus, and as a result, are more precautious about following the social distancing advisories particularly with regards to public transit which is considered a major disseminator for the pandemic ( Barr et al, 2008 , Cava et al, 2005 , Rubin et al, 2009 ).…”

“…Accordingly, dense areas lead to greater awareness of the risk and severity of the pandemic. Pandemics are more likely to reach earlier to dense areas, particularly if they are highly connected to the outside world ( Carozzi et al, 2020 , Hamidi et al, 2020 , Hamidi et al, 2020 ). Dense areas also are more likely to have a higher number of COVID-19 deaths; although not necessarily on a per capita basis ( Dong et al, 2020 ).…”

Early Phase Management of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the Geographic Area of the Veneto Region, in One of the World’s Oldest Populations

“…In many studies conducted since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, the population density has been considered to be related to the number of cases, mainly because a high population density can facilitate the spread of the virus [14][15][16][17][18]. However, there are also other studies that did not find a correlation between the density and cases [12,[19][20][21][22]. It is presumed that a high population density can facilitate the spread of the virus due to more people engaging in social interactions to a larger extent, thereby making social distancing harder to maintain and causing public transportation to be more overcrowded.…”

“…It is presumed that a high population density can facilitate the spread of the virus due to more people engaging in social interactions to a larger extent, thereby making social distancing harder to maintain and causing public transportation to be more overcrowded. However, in more densely populated cities or counties/districts, the population is more likely to adopt social distancing measures and respect laws and regulations decided by the government than people in low density areas [21][22][23]. Finally, the pattern and characteristics of social interactions in a population are very complex and difficult to analyze and may not be directly and linearly related to the population density [22,[24][25][26].…”