Living in Boston during COVID-19: Fear and Ambivalence

Abstract

In the Summer of 2020, the Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI) at Northeastern University, the Center for Survey Research (CSR) at University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) conducted a survey that captures the experiences of 1626 Bostonians during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey provides unique insights into how experiences and challenges varied across the populations and neighborhoods of a single city—something not currently available from any other source, in Boston or otherwise. This second report describes what we see as contrasting themes of fear and ambivalence among Bostonians. On the one hand, there appears to be broad consensus that the virus is dangerous, that social distancing guidelines are important, that masks should be worn and high-risk activities avoided, and that asymptomatic spread is a concern. However, there was much deviation from this consensus, and these views varied substantially by neighborhood, race, and income. This variation can help us to understand the vulnerabilities that different communities face as cases surge this winter.

Keywords: coronavirus pandemic, racial equity, neighborhoods, social distancing, infection exposure