Racial Disparities in Frontline Workers and Housing Crowding During COVID 19: Evidence from Geolocation Data
We document that racial disparities in COVID 19 in New York City stem from patterns of commuting and housing crowding. During the initial wave of the pandemic, out of home activity related to commuting is strongly associated with COVID 19 cases at the ZIP Code level and hospitalization at an individual level. After layoffs of essential workers decreased commuting, case growth continued through household crowding. A larger share of individuals in crowded housing or commuting to essential work are Black, Hispanic, and lower income. As a result, structural inequalities, rather than population density, help determine the cross section of COVID 19 risk exposure in urban areas.