The social housing, space that produces environmental stress in the case for confinement for Covid-19, in City Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico

Main Article Content

Leticia Peña-Barrera

Abstract

Social housing is the patrimony that thousands of families have acquired over time, with a Infonavit financing resources in recent decades in Mexico. These homes had an area of up to 90 square meters of construction in 1970, either single-family or condominium apartments. It is currently only 35 square meters or less. The impact on the decrease in space in homes has effects on the mental health of their residents, which was measured randomly during the Covid-19 lockdown.


The methodology used are considered two study groups to identify situations that affected daily life, causing depression, fear, sadness, and anger, and were linked to the size of the space, household noise, lack of privacy, and problems of coexistence. The first group take assistance in the call center to Secretary of health for there have a depression, fear, sadness, and anger and intrafamilial violence. The second group they not had assistance.


This article addresses the factors that generate environmental stress (depression, stress, anger, and sadness) in housing, due to prolonged confinement, limited space, and lack of isolation. In this sense, it is assumed that housing at a spatial determinant for socialization can trigger environments that produce stress and that hinder healthy coexistence in its residents.


This research is a reflection on the changes that need to be made to improve social housing and ensure a stress-free environment to withstand prolonged confinement.

Keywords: limited space, environmental stress, situation of vulnerability

Article Details

How to Cite
PEÑA-BARRERA, Leticia. The social housing, space that produces environmental stress in the case for confinement for Covid-19, in City Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 4, may 2025. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6395>. Date accessed: 22 may 2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i4.6395.
Section
Research Articles

References

1. Infonavit is a Financial from the National Institute of Workers' Housing Fund, it's for the social housing
2. It’s the opinion to Ball in 1998, registered for Kunz and Espinoza un 2017 page 684.
3. It’s the opinion to Park, M.; Cocinero, A. R.; Lim, JT; Sun, Y.; Dickens, B. L. A systematic review of the epidemiology of Covid-19 based on current evidence. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020, Vol. 9. p. 967. Switzerland: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MPDI).et al, 2020: p. 968).
4. It’s the opinion to Park, M.; Cocinero, A. R.; Lim, JT; Sun, Y.; Dickens, B. L. A systematic review of the epidemiology of Covid-19 based on current evidence. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020, Vol. 9. p. 967. Switzerland: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MPDI).et al, 2020: p. 968).
5. It’s the opinion to Charles J. Holahan in the text Environmental Psychology, a General Approach. México: Editorial Limusa, published in 2005.
6. Peña & Sandoval explain this in the text "Ciudad Juárez, deterioration and abandonment of housing." In the journal Cities 113, Towards an evaluation of contemporary cities. No. 113, pp. 28-36. Mexico: National Network of Urban Research, published in 2019, quote from page 29.
7. This is explained by Saldarriaga in the book "Habitability" published in Colombia in 1981 by Fondo Editorial Escala, quoted from the page 57.
8. Monteys defines as "nuanced uses" in the text “The room beyond the living room” published in Mexico by Editorial Gustavo Gili in the year 2014 quote from page 16
9. The concept of "progressive degradation of the quality of human life" was proposed in 1970 by Dubos in the text "Reason Awke: Science for Man" published in the USA by University Press, which was cited by Edward Holahan in the book “Environmental Psychology” (2005: 190).
10. Sheldon Cohen identified that "exposure to a producer of environmental stress can result in an overload in the individual's capacity that prevents him from processing the information necessary to effectively perform a task or social activities", in the research “Aftereffects of stress on human performance and social behavior: A review of research and theory". In Psychological Bulletin. No. 88, pp. 82-108. USA: American Psychological Association. (2005: 215).
11. Edward Holahan describes the decrease in the "cognitive capacity" to resolve or control the factors that cause them to be diminished. In Environmental Psychology (2005: 211).
12. The "high levels of effort, energy, and attention" due to prolonged environmental stress, researched by Seagert in 1976 and published in Holahan, Environmental Psychology (2005: 191).
13. The opinion of Sheldon Cohen in Holahan, 2005: 215
14. The decrease in "the ability to process information" and, with it, the performance of complex tasks are explained by Cohen in 1980 page 97, a quote taken from Environmental Psychology by Edward Holahan (2005: 15).
15. The study groups are residents of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, who collaborate with the research through interviews and the application of a questionnaire that contributes to the results of this investigation.
16. The application of random questions to ensure anonymity is proposed by Bennassar et al. in the research "Cluster Analysis of Health-Related Lifestyles in University Students", published in the Journal Environmental Research and Public Health. Vol. 17, No. 5: 1776 by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MPDI) in 2020.
17. According to Holahan, the problem of overcrowding interferes with quality of life due to the resulting noise and lack of space. In the case of overcrowding, according to Goux DM, Maurin E. (2005) relates it to mental health and infectious diseases in his text: The effect of overcrowded housing on children’s performance at school. Journal of Public Economics 2005;89(5):797–819.
18. "The new uses of housing linked to work, education and other activities must have the possibility of not eliminating activities that were already in the home. It is a place that guarantees a dignified and quality life", is the research of Medellín (2020: 2). Medellín Aranguren, Paola (2020) "It is urgent to transform housing to guarantee quality of life and well-being beyond the pandemic" Carlos Torres. In Featured News. Published on Monday, July 20, 2020. Colombia: IEU Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
19. Durón and Peña mention that synchronous space "means that the activity must be carried out at the same time" (The emerging paradigms in post-COVID-19 architectural design in Ciudad Juarez: synchronous and asynchronous spaces, Chihuahua Hoy. Chihuahua Hoy, year 19, no. 19 -January- December 2021: 289)
20. Asynchronous space involves adding acoustic mattresses, acrylic elements, screens, among others, and that according to Peña and Durón (2024: 224) "leads the designer to explore the diversity of uses and propose solutions," which is raised in the chapter "Daily Life during the Covid-19 pandemic, limitations of living space for synchronous and asynchronous activities in Delicias, Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico." In the book Urban Heritage Fabrics in Mexico and Emerging Paradigms Post-Pandemic. Mexico. University of Guanajuato.
21. According to Durón and Peña, flexible space "can easily be imagined with panels that move, furniture that folds, or curtains that unfold," offering a versatile space for different uses. (2021: 294). Forqués (2016) is defined over time and by its uses (Flexibilidad de la Arquitectura. Mito. Revista Cultural).