Building Strategies and Resilience in the Face of a Pandemic in Urban China and Brazil: COVID-19, Access to Water, and Inequality

The response capacity to the pandemic in cities relates to pre-existing spatialized and socioeconomic inequalities. This is the case for vulnerable areas in major cities in Latin America, where access to water and sanitation services is often precarious; while China’s densely populated coastal cities achieved lower contagion rates thanks to strict lockdown measures. The role of better sanitation systems cannot be understated. The analysis in this chapter employs a regression model with key elements that contribute to urban inequalities: investment in sanitary infrastructure and access to water; differentials in socioeconomic indicators such as literacy rate and income inequality; and policies to prevent contagion. We argue that not only are fast containment strategies important, but long-term investment in access to sanitation also helps build resilient cities and puts them in a better position to fight new pandemics. This study points out the importance of considering a multilevel approach in designing public policies to prepare for pandemics and build urban resilience, considering inequalities, education, healthcare, access to water and sanitation, and urban and regional mobility. First, we give an overview of localized aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in China and Brazil, followed by a description of the methodology and an analysis of our findings and results. The last section discusses policy implications for each country.