Public Space During a Pandemic
COVID-19 proves the civic commons is critical for communities
A greater awareness of the value of parks and other public spaces has suddenly arisen in our national conversation. Part of this rethinking of public space is driven by necessity — as social distancing and stay-at-home edicts grow more numerous, the parks and open spaces we used to take for granted become a last refuge outside our homes. Suddenly, a myriad of voices are proclaiming the importance of our neglected and underfunded civic assets — parks, public spaces and nature — with new recognition of our shared civic commons as critical social, environmental and even health infrastructure for communities. Here’s a round-up of recent articles:
A call for sweeping reinvestment in public spaces
In the Philadelphia Inquirer, architect and University of Connecticut law professor, Sara Bronin, issues a call for sweeping reinvestment in parks and open spaces to match the design of our grand parks from the 19th and early 20th century. “When COVID-19 has passed,” says Bronin, “we must collectively push for critical re-investments in national, state, and local park systems.”
Rediscovering the joy of a walk in the park
In the New York Times, Michael Wilson writes on the rediscovered joys of walking in the park, which is being encouraged by local governments even in an era of social distancing. Says Wilson: “Not in recent memory have the city’s parks been called upon to provide what Frederick Law Olmsted, one of their celebrated landscape architects, said in 1866 was ‘the feeling of relief experienced by those entering them, on escaping from the cramped, confined and controlling circumstances of the streets of the town.’”
Parks and public spaces as an essential city service
Another article in the Philadelphia Inquirer from writer Inga Saffron makes the case for parks as critical infrastructure, essential to the well-being of residents. Saffron interviews Philadelphia Parks Commissioner Kathryn Ott-Lovell: “It takes a crisis sometimes to understand certain things are central to our lives,” says Ott-Lovell. “At budget time, the traditional city services of police and fire are seen as essential. I’ve tried to make the case that parks and rec are also a fundamental human service, a social service, and that we need to treat them as such.”
A growing appreciation of the value of shared civic assets
New York Times columnist, Michelle Goldberg, shares her hope for a rekindling of the civic commons after the pandemic is over, including this quote from sociologist and author Eric Klinenberg: “What I hope for is that this rising generation learns to appreciate just how deeply connected we are to each other, just how valuable it is to invest in public goods, and how precious and important shared experiences in public spaces are.”
Urban green spaces continue to promote health
For Reuters, Rina Chandran highlights the growing importance of parks and open spaces across the world as gyms, malls and swimming pools close down. According to Sarah Lindley, a professor of geography at Britain’s University of Manchester, urban green spaces are “critical determinants of health and wellbeing…In the current crisis situation, social functions need to be greatly reduced, but the intrinsic value of these places — and many of their beneficial functions — still remain.”
Prioritizing public space is a leading strategy
In Curbed, Alissa Walker shows how much attention the social distancing and stay-at-home orders of the novel coronavirus era are giving to public places. In some cities, streets have been closed to cars to create even more space for people to be outside safely. “Those cities that have started to prioritize their public realm for people with six feet distance between us, rather than packing us in around cars and driving, means some are experiencing the broader possibilities of the public realm,” says Thaisa Way, landscape architecture professor at the University of Washington. “Let’s hope we fill up that space and then protect it as a more generous and healthy urban landscape.”
As we move together through this pandemic, we will continue to share articles that capture this growing recognition of the importance of our civic commons for resilient communities, and those that highlight strategies for managing the public realm during a time when physical distancing is a must.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration of The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and local partners.
