Transition of activity space before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore

Keywords: behavioral change, mobility, infectious disease, human dynamics
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

To contain the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, many countries were placed on lockdowns. Individuals were instructed to stay at home, leaving only for shopping necessities, medical needs, or working in essential services. Such impact on human activity behavior is not clear. This study aims to investigate individuals’ behavioral and activity space change across different time periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey targeting 2000 participants was conducted for Singapore adult residents. Participants were asked about their frequencies and locations of performing six activities – work, grocery shopping, retail shopping, getting food, leisure/sport, and religious practice – across three time periods in pre-COVID, during the lockdown in April and May 2020, and the time of the survey in early 2022. Preliminary findings show that most participants have reduced the frequencies of performing these activities, except for work. Compared to the pre-COVID time, about one-third of the participants still travel shorter distances for work, getting food, and retail shopping. Spatial patterns of activity flows between major towns in Singapore reveal that the Central Business District area has experienced declined travel volumes for work, retail shopping and getting food, while flows between neighborhood towns for some activities have increased. Insights into the decentralization of human movement and activities from the Central Business District to neighborhood towns will contribute to the planning of more epidemiologically resilient neighborhoods.