Five and a half years after the first Covid-19-related lockdown in Belgium, the “post-pandemic world” is not the peaceful, value-centred, fairer world some had dreamed of. On the contrary, economic inequality has increased. A greater number of people also express psychological suffering, particularly among young people and children. While the successive lockdowns and their consequences on social relations are undoubtedly among the reasons for this suffering, it is legitimate to question the specific factors which influenced the experience of the pandemic in a city as diverse as Brussels. In the latest issue of Brussels Studies, researchers in psychology at Université libre de Bruxelles (Camila Arnal, Chiara Inserra, Christophe Leys, Olivier Klein) and in architecture (Olivier Gennart) take us back to the first months of the pandemic.

Their study investigates the relationship between living conditions and the psychological wellbeing of Brussels residents after two months of lockdown. The data were collected in May 2020 via an online survey made available on social networks and by word of mouth. Some 315 people took part, answering questions about their homes, outdoor activities, the importance of green spaces in their environment, their psychological state (positive and negative emotional states), their age and their neighbourhood of residence.

The results confirm that physical activity and age are significant predictors of wellbeing. The importance attached to green spaces, and private gardens in particular, was also reinforced during the first lockdown. For the authors, this underlines the need for urban policies which promote equal access to green spaces, whose benefits go beyond leisure activities and have a direct impact on wellbeing. Given the uneven distribution of these spaces in the Brussels region, it is possible that residents of less affluent municipalities faced greater obstacles to enjoying outdoor activities, further accentuating socioeconomic disparities in wellbeing.

Finally, the results show that young people have suffered most psychologically from the conditions imposed by the lockdown (higher anxiety and depression among young people and an increasing sense of happiness with age). This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Brussels, where many of the poorest neighbourhoods with less favourable living conditions are also those with the youngest population. Young people in these places are faced with additional stress factors, such as inadequate housing, limited access to green spaces and high unemployment rates, which can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and social exclusion. It is essential not only to reduce these disparities, but also to reinforce the mental health systems dedicated to young people, not so much to manage future crises, but to promote mental health and social cohesion in the long term.

References
Arnal, C., Gennart, O., Inserra, C., Leys, C. and Klein, O., “Psychological wellbeing and living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brussels”, Brussels Studies [Online], General Collection, No 209, 5 November 2025. URL: http https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/8220
Contact
Tatiana Debroux, Editor in chief:
tdebroux[at]brusselsstudies.be