When a crisis breaks out, whatever its nature, the inequalities of a society are accentuated. The arrival of Covid-19 , the greatest health, economic and social crisis in recent times, has only confirmed this. Storydata , together with Crític , have analyzed the data on positive cases of Covid-19 in Catalonia along with other indicators, with the aim of measuring the real impact of the pandemic on our society.
The result has been a series of articles in Crític where we have worked as a team to shed light on inequality, in addition to offering an updated service on Covid-19 cases by basic health area, the accumulated AI and the AI of the last 14 days.
1. Map of Covid-19 in Catalonia, neighborhood by neighborhood
Series of proprietary maps that allow you to search for cases and the impact of Covid-19 by basic health areas (ABS, similar to neighborhoods in large cities, or grouping municipalities in smaller towns) throughout Catalonia with maximum detail. The data represents the rate of cases accumulated from June 1 to October 24, 2020 that have tested positive for Covid-19 PCR tests, ELISA tests and rapid tests per 100,000 inhabitants in each ABS, according to data from the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya published on the Dades Obertes portal. The date of June 1 has been selected because in June, once the confinement after the first wave of the virus is over, is when Catalonia begins to carry out mass testing of the population, and not only for seriously ill patients.
The pandemic has hit harder the neighborhoods with the lowest per capita income and, at the same time, the most densely populated in Catalonia , especially in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, in the axis of the agri-food industry between Vic and Manlleu and in the city of Lleida and most of the agricultural municipalities of Ponent.
The maps of the basic health areas clearly show a trend: the reddest areas, with the highest incidence of the virus in the last five months, are located precisely in the most impoverished and densely populated areas such as Nou Barris , the Besòs axis , neighborhoods such as Pubilla Casas or Florida de l'Hospitalet , the neighborhoods of Ca n'Anglada and Sant Pere Nord de Terrassa, the poorest neighborhoods in the upper part of Badalona or entire municipalities such as Santa Coloma de Gramenet or, if we broaden the focus of the Catalan map, the cases of Salt (in Girona), the Vic-Manlleu area (in Osona), towns such as Alcarràs and Seròs (in Lleida) or the area around Balaguer (la Noguera) or les Borges Blanques (in les Garrigues) stand out.
Publication date: 26/10/2020
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2. Five maps and graphs about municipal confinement
Weekend perimeter confinement has also been a vector of social, health and cultural inequalities during the pandemic.
Population density is a relevant factor to take into account when analyzing coronavirus infections. A study by researchers at Hospital Clínic certified that “the incidence of Covid-19 is higher the lower the solar radiation and the greater the population density” , after studying hundreds of regions around the world during the first wave of the virus. Although it is not the only cause, as there are also health, age or economic factors, the data shows that the coronavirus has become more severe in the denser and poorest neighborhoods throughout Catalonia.
Population density of Catalonia, by municipality
The densest square kilometer in all of Europe is in Catalonia, specifically, in the Florida neighborhood , in Hospitalet de Llobregat, precisely one of the neighborhoods with the lowest per capita income in the country.
Population density of Barcelona, by census section
The density map of Barcelona by census tract shows how, clearly, the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city are also the most densely populated neighborhoods. And, in fact, we already know that the neighborhoods with the worst per capita income in the city are where the incidence of coronavirus infections has been highest in both the first and second waves. There are only a few exceptions, such as the highest areas of the Nou Barris district, close to Collserola, where the density is low. The density is very high in neighborhoods such as Barceloneta , Raval, Prosperitat, Bon Pastor, Sagrera or Verneda , and, on the other hand, it is very low in Sarrià, Pedralbes, Vallvidrera, Sant Gervasi, Putxet or Vallcarca.
Surface area of green areas on urban land per inhabitant, by municipality
The World Health Organization recommends that cities have at least 10 to 15 square meters of urban green space per inhabitant. However, it is recommended that this ratio reach values of 15 to 20 meters.
The map shows, in red, the municipalities that do not reach 10 square meters per inhabitant. However, it must be taken into account that only urban land is counted and, therefore, a municipality that is located in the middle of the mountains may have a low value because it does not need green areas because it is surrounded by them. Therefore, this data only makes sense if we focus on the most populated and dense municipalities.
Of the 23 municipalities across Catalonia that have more than 50,000 inhabitants, 10 have an area of green areas on urban land per inhabitant of less than 10 m²/inhabitant. In addition to l'Hospitalet and Santa Coloma, the cases of Reus, Mataró and Sabadell stand out in a negative way.
Publication date: 03/12/2020
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