Could urban form moderate mental distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from Jakarta, Indonesia

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ACDE Seminar
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The COVID-19 pandemic affects people’s well-being around the world in the forms of increased fatalities as well as both physical and mental health issues. Mental health issues were a concern among the people living in urban areas, where the pandemic hit most. Existing studies showed that urban form could associate with the general mental health status of urban populations. Jakarta was the case of this study in the investigation of whether urban form could moderate the negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health of urban society. The hypothesis was a more compact area could offer better support. An Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimator combined with a matching technique was used as the estimation technique. The results suggested that urban form reduced the mental distress symptoms encountered by urban communities during the pandemic. In addition, the urban form effect was majorly felt by males, non-migrants, and individuals from wealthy families.
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