(Un)inhabit and (re) inhabit housing and municipalities: reflections based on the Colombian experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Living in a home has always been a primordial need for human beings, in which micro universes of being and their sociability develop. Therefore, putting this comfortable habitat at risk places the physical, mental, and social well-being of the people who inhabit it at risk. The pandemic spread worldwide by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, known as COVID-19, reflects the social, economic, political, and cultural pre-existing needs and inequalities of all countries of the world. The situation of this health crisis motivated this review and reflection on the inhabited space, recognizing the aspects that involve the use of the dwelling, the adaptation, and the impacts of habitability due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the health status of individuals who inhabit them. This exploratory discussion was developed in the framework of the post-pandemic housing seminar workshop of the Colombian response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications in the ways of inhabiting the habitation as the municipality enables us to reflect and describe the various approaches and conclusions drawn from recent research that exposes the importance of the relationship of inhabitants with their home regarding public health and a habitability that is configured according to social conditions imposed by the current health crisis.