URBAN DENSITIES AND CONNECTIVITY: NEW CHALLENGES IN THE FACE OF COVID-19 THE CASE OF MEXICO

Abstract

The current health emergency has clearly exposed the risk of living in cities, where the high concentration of individuals hinders the social distance necessary to prevent the occurrence of contagion. However, another important aspect to consider is the displacement capacity of human groups, whose connective potential merge in the analytical horizon, as an important variable to consider in the speed of spread of the disease. The initial hypothesis of this research considers that the spread of the disease is not only attributable to a high concentration of individuals in space, but
also to their mobility possibilities, that is, to their connectivity potential. A quantitative analysis based on official statistics of the Mexican case has made it possible to observe the behavior of the urban indicators of density and connectivity, their relationships, and their respective implications
in the spread of COVID. The study is conclusive, demonstrating that in many cases, connectivity explains the speed with which the disease spreads in localities with low density values. The analysis also integrates orographic aspects, which allow us to understand the not always linear behavioral
dynamics of this complex relationship.