Post-/pandemic mobility adaptations and wellbeing in Oslo, Norway: A longitudinal mixed-methods approach

Abstract

This study investigates the understudied relationship between post-/pandemic mobility adaptations and wellbeing outcomes, drawing on a longitudinal mixed-method approach combining survey analyses and in-depth citizen interviews conducted between 2019 and 2022 in Oslo, Norway. Qualitative analyses explore the depth and diversity of pandemic mobility adaptations and the implications for hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Factor and structural equation models confirm statistical evidence for three pandemic coping strategies – working from home, avoiding spaces of infection, and (enjoyment of) the local environment – with respectively neutral, negative and positive impacts on satisfaction with life. The post-pandemic ability to be more mobile and attend diverse activities again is by many perceived as positive, but people struggle to maintain cherished aspects of the slower-paced, localised lifestyles adopted during the pandemic. We discuss the significance of our findings for inclusive pandemic resilience, and reflect on the lessons relevant for addressing another crisis – climate change.

Post-/pandemic mobility adaptations and wellbeing in Oslo, Norway: A longitudinal mixed-methods approach