Unlike an earthquake or a flood, coronavirus (COVID-19) is a slowly unfolding disaster.
We do not know how many weeks or months it will take to control the pandemic.
But it is important to remember the Persian adage, “this too shall pass”. The concept of community resilience – that is, the communities’ capacity to withstand crises or disruptions - can help us understand what we need to do now to recover.
And what we need to do now is overcome the barriers of physical distancing to build stronger, more tightly bonded communities.
Build stronger, more tightly bonded communities
Post-disaster studies [1], following the 2011 Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 and Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, revealed the most significant predictor of survival and recovery is the extent to which people know each other and feel a sense of duty and responsibility to each other.
People’s social ties and bonds are critical to reducing losses and accelerating recovery. In some situations, this human connection is more important in saving lives than infrastructure and emergency supplies.
Research tells us connected, trusting and cohesive communities, where people know and care about each other, survive and recover better than those less well-connected within households and neighbourhoods, and other community networks. Social connections enable people to help each other and are literal lifelines for the disadvantaged and the elderly.
Social distancing measures are critical to managing the spread of contagious disease
But the social distancing measures critical to managing the spread of contagious disease, such as the coronavirus, inhibit and corrode these vital social connections, undermining their positive, insulating effect in disastrous times.
So, how can we maintain and support social ties during long lockdowns?
Digital tools are already helping people through this pandemic, including enabling remote working, online education and ordering of essential household supplies. We are better prepared than ever to withstand a pandemic thanks to these technologies.
Digital tools are already helping people
But digital tools are not a panacea. While effective for many, they can exclude the elderly, and other vulnerable groups. If they do not work as intended, are too experimental, or difficult to navigate, they can make life more challenging. Then, they compound people’s uncertainty and disconnection. So more traditional communication methods, such as radio, phones and posters, remain important.
We need each other now more than ever. Those with strong social bonds and connections now will be able to draw on these once the pandemic is under control. The isolated and disconnected will find recovery more difficult.
Our challenge is to find new ways to encourage and build social connections, in spite of the physical distance we must maintain to bring this situation under control. Our legacy must be stronger, more tightly bonded communities, better able to recover.
Social connection is our post-coronavirus lifeline.
GHD will be issuing a series of think pieces aimed at exploring how our industries will be adjusting to this new normal, how digitisation and “everything online” will come to life, and how businesses can adapt to new forms of continuity risks today and in the future. To access these insights, click here.
Meet Libby
Libby Mitchell is a leading engagement and communication strategist at GHD, who is committed to empowering communities and stakeholders to safely navigate uncertainty, disruption and difficult change. With international experience in the private and public sectors, Libby builds collaborative teams effectively and for the long term. As a discipline leader with advanced social science research credentials, she most values her achievements as a mentor, collaborator and a strategist.
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[1] Aldrich, D. P., & Meyer, M. A. (2015). Social Capital and Community Resilience. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(2), 254–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764214550299
