Changes

Since the double recession back in 2008-2013, there has been increased interest in studying the economic activities deemed as being really ‘essential’ for the sustainable running of developed societies and the well-being of citizens. New terms, such as urban ''[https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10051708/1/Schafran%20et%20al%20-%20open%20access.pdf development'' sector ] and ''[https://foundationaleconomy.com/ essential economy''], have been coined to describe the economic sectors that supply basic goods and services to households and urban areas. These so-called ‘essential activities’ account for between a third and a half of employment in developed countries, and their critical nature makes them more resistant in times of economic downturn, falling income and growing unemployment.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the relevance of this type of analysis. The state of alarm limited activity to a very specific set of [https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2020/03/29/pdfs/BOE-A-2020-4166.pdf essential activities ] that included the supply of energy, water and food; the processing sector; freight transport; information and communication services; financial services; business advice; public administration; healthcare; and social services (see the chart on Companies deemed as being essential.