Longing for everyday life. Experiencing COVID-19 social isolation in a Latin American city

Abstract

This article examines the transformations in meaning and use of public and domestic spheres in the context of the strict COVID-19 stay-at-home measures in Greater Buenos Aires. Building on a mixed-methods approach that included a survey with close to 3000 responses and 12 in-depth interviews, we explore how restrictions on the navigation of public space transformed the ways in which both the city and the private sphere were lived. We found that our subjects developed a wide array of strategies to compensate for the closure of public spaces, adapting their everyday life to the limits of their housing arrangements. They described how windows, balconies, yards, and terraces were reappropriated for political or artistic display, while bedrooms and living rooms had to be openly exhibited through videoconference calls for work and education. At the same time, these transformations aggravated pre-existing inequalities, as social isolation was experienced very differently depending on household composition, gender, social class, age, housing and urban conditions. As our subjects longed for the spaces and activities the city provides, the disappearance of public space showed precisely how important it is for lived experience and the everyday reproduction of life.