Spatial Differences and the Impact of the Lockdown on Well-Being in the Netherlands

Linked to a large-scale French study elaborated and Launched by Lise Bourdeau-Lepage (2020), the 23th March, a Dutch version of the questionnaire was distributed. The aim of the questionnaire is to map spatial differences in the impact of the Dutch lock-down on well-being and lifestyles. Almost 2 000 respondents completed the survey in the period April 13 - May 5. The main conclusion we can draw from the initial analyses is that space, and especially urbanity, matters. On average, well-being has declined across the country, but in the dense urban areas the decline is greater than in the least urban areas. And although no significant differences in well-being between urban and rural areas were experienced before the lock-down, this is the case during the lock-down.Respondents living in the most urban areas experience a greater decline in exercising, they suffer more from mental health issues and are more often bored than respondents from the rural areas. This has partly to do with the environment and partly with the composition of the population. Respondents living in a single-family house with a garden often have a higher level of life-satisfaction than people with an apartment without a terrace/balcony. In addition, young people, who more often live in the city, suffer more from boredom and health problems. Their life-satisfaction has also deteriorated more than that of the other age groups in our sample