Rethinking livelihoods in times of pandemic and urban inequality

Authors

  • Pedro Henrique Campello Torres Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
  • Bruna Brauer Braga Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)
  • Beatriz Milz Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)
  • Dorcas Nthoki Nyamai TU Dortmund

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36942/dialogossocioambientais.v8i24.1459

Keywords:

COVID-19, livelihoods, urbanization, youth, access

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened urban inequalities, critically affecting the livelihoods of marginalized groups. This text discusses the relevance of adapting the sustainable livelihoods framework to urban analysis, considering vulnerabilities shaped by gender, generation, migration and informality. Drawing on data from the ICOLMA project, we show how residents in urban peripheries of the Global South reshape their survival strategies amid mobility restrictions and collapsing access to basic services.

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Author Biographies

Pedro Henrique Campello Torres, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)

Professor in Environmental Sciences, with an emphasis on coastal management and environmental planning, affiliated with São Paulo State University (UNESP), at the Institute of Biosciences – Coastal Paulista Campus (IB-CLP). He is a faculty member in the Graduate Program in Environmental Science (PROCAM) at the University of São Paulo (USP) and in the Graduate Program in Coastal Environments Biodiversity (PPGBAC) at UNESP. He coordinates the Laboratory on Environmental Inequality, Climate Change, and Planning in Socioecological Environments (LADAMPS) and serves as an editor of the journal Local Environment. He is a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), Working Group II (WGII). His research addresses environmental inequalities, climate justice, and adaptation in coastal cities.

Bruna Brauer Braga, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

Bruna Brauer Braga is an architect and urban planner with a degree from the Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA) and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Territorial Planning and Management (PGT) at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Ministry of Education. She is a member of the Territorial Planning Laboratory (Laplan/UFABC) and participates in the project "Impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods, mobility, and accessibility of marginalised groups (ICOLMA)".

Beatriz Milz, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

Beatriz Milz holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Management from the University of São Paulo (USP), a master’s degree in Sciences from the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), and a PhD in Environmental Science from USP. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), affiliated with the ICOLMA/TAP-FAPESP project. She is part of the executive team of the journals Ambiente & Sociedade and Revista Diálogos Socioambientais, and serves as a Software Peer Review Editor at rOpenSci.

Dorcas Nthoki Nyamai, TU Dortmund

Dorcas Nyamai Nthoki holds a PhD in Spatial Planning. She is a researcher at the International Planning Studies, TU Dortmund University. Her research centres on sustainable urban mobility and spatial justice in African cities.

References

CHAMBERS, Robert; CONWAY, Gordon. Sustainable rural livelihoods: practical concepts for the 21st century. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, 1992. (IDS Discussion Paper, n. 296).

TORRES, P. H. C. et al. Territorial planning and livelihoods in times of crisis: an exploratory study on three cities during COVID-19 from the livelihood framework. In: NATIONAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING, 21., 2025, Curitiba. Proceedings: Realize Editora, 2025. Available from: https://editorarealize.com.br/artigo/visualizar/122976. Access in: 21 Aug. 2025.

TORRES, P. et al. Reframing the sustainable livelihoods framework in urban crisis contexts: mobility, health, natural capital and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in São Paulo City (Brazil). Manuscript submitted for publication. 2025.

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Published

2025-12-23

How to Cite

CAMPELLO TORRES, Pedro Henrique; BRAUER BRAGA, Bruna; MILZ, Beatriz; NTHOKI NYAMAI, Dorcas. Rethinking livelihoods in times of pandemic and urban inequality. Diálogos Socioambientais, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 24, p. 80–85, 2025. DOI: 10.36942/dialogossocioambientais.v8i24.1459. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufabc.edu.br/index.php/dialogossocioambientais/article/view/1459. Acesso em: 16 mar. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 24 (2025): Before and beyond the pandemic

Section

Jovens que pesquisam

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Diálogos Socioambientais

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