Public Space Promotes Civic Life During COVID-19

Sustaining cities in the face of a pandemic, part 2

Image courtesy of Memphis River Parks Partnership.

As the pandemic and local shutdowns moved across America this spring, civic asset practitioners realized two things: first, outdoor public spaces had become more important than ever, as some of the only safe places for members of their communities to find respite, exercise and play; second, public spaces were critical for organizing and responding to people’s basic needs.

In part 1, we showed how cities across the country were building community, extending a universal welcome and supporting (safely distanced) human connection in public space. Here in part 2, we bring stories of cities where civic infrastructure is being leveraged to keep civic life and economic vibrancy alive.

In Memphis, people take back the street

Across the country, public space practitioners are recognizing the sometimes negative impacts of nearby car and truck traffic on people’s use of public space. As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Memphis in March, the City of Memphis closed Riverside Drive — a downtown street just next to the Riverfront public spaces (including 30-acre Tom Lee Park) that have been undergoing transformation for several years. While the closure of the fast-moving thoroughfare that separates downtown proper from the riverfront was part of enabling people who use the park spaces to enjoy them while staying physically distant, unexpectedly, the street quickly became a well-used extension of Tom Lee Park itself.

Visitors quickly began to take advantage of the additional space to use the park and the street in new ways: 12 percent more visitors used the park, and they visited in a more evenly distributed manner, rather than coming for a specific event. The riverfront became Memphis’ biggest outdoor gym, with trainers holding classes outside, and many runners using the bluff staircases that connect the park to downtown to gain elevation and fitness.

When park users are intercepted for interviews about their experience, they most often use words like “peace,” “love” and “convenient” to describe Tom Lee Park during Riverside Drive’s closure. Image and word cloud courtesy of Memphis River Parks Partnership.

One other significant shift was where visitors felt comfortable: before the Riverfront Drive closure, almost 60 percent of park visitors used the river’s edge path farthest away from the fast-moving and loud street. After the closure, more visitors used Riverside Drive and its nearby shaded pathway.

In August, the City of Memphis reopened Riverside Drive to cars on weekdays, maintaining the street’s closure on weekends. To celebrate, the Memphis River Parks Partnership brought back a popular pre-pandemic activity with a physically-distant twist: roller skating.

While pre-pandemic skate nights drew upwards of 200 Memphians for roller skating around a small, concentrated space, with Riverside Drive closed, the paved area of the park suitable for skating doubled in size. With the sounds of a DJ spinning in the background, free skate rentals are now available every weekend evening, and visitors can explore the length of Riverside Drive skate by wheels and blades. Visitors less confident on wheels can play outdoor games like Can Jam, Wiffle Ball and Cornhole. With more space, skates, games and fun, the Memphis riverfront is building community even in the (physically distanced) new normal.

Supporting local businesses and public life in Macon

New outdoor seating installed in response to COVID-19 in Macon, Georgia. Image credit: Jessica Whitley Photography, courtesy of NewTown Macon.

With local restaurants hit hard by the pandemic, Macon has been placing shaded picnic tables in median parks (also called median strips) as additional outdoor seating. While restaurants cannot provide service to these tables, they are allowed restaurants to sell to-go meals to residents looking to enjoy the outdoors and downtown in a safe way. This pilot has also provided Macon’s local civic commons team with good data on the types of changes residents might want to see permanently in public spaces, informing future investments.

The city’s new open container policy allows people to walk around downtown with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the evening. This provides increased sales and support for bars and restaurants and augments the outdoor seating plan to allow more enjoyment from patrons.

Together these two strategies offer a way to increase public life and socialization in a safe, comfortable way while working to sustain local Macon businesses through a challenging time.

Boosting commercial corridors through the public realm in Detroit

Image courtesy of Live6 Alliance.

Detroit’s civic commons work has always incorporated commercial corridors as key public realm assets. In response to the pandemic, the local non-profit Live6 Alliance created “Livernois Outdoors,” an initiative that provided 75 sets of outdoor patio furniture to seven eateries on the commercial street known as the “Avenue of Fashion.” The intention: drive customers to struggling eateries on the commercial corridor that had recently undergone significant streetscaping. The initiative encourages public life to flourish, while safely using the brand new 25 foot wide sidewalks installed as part of the streetscape project.

Detroit’s civic commons team has learned that physical distancing restrictions only serve to amplify the value of investing in streets for people!

Philadelphia launches Love Your Park Solo Cleanups

Philly parks have seen record usage over the past few months — and a subsequent increase in litter. Typically, this issue is remedied in part each spring and fall, when thousands of volunteers come out to clean and green their neighborhood parks as part of Love Your Park, an initiative hosted by Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. But due to the pandemic and city budget restraints, Philadelphia has had to pivot to respond effectively to the increased litter.

Love Your Park Solo Cleanup pickup station. Image credit: Jim Wasserman courtesy of Fairmount Park Conservancy.

That pivot has manifested itself as Love Your Park Solo Cleanups, a summer campaign that encouraged all park users to safely clean up trash and litter individually or with their social bubbles as they enjoyed Philly parks. To encourage volunteers to go the extra mile and to keep track of impacts, participants were encouraged to register for Love Your Park Solo Cleanups and have been sharing their accomplishments, including how many bags of trash they picked up and how many hours they spent in the park.

Volunteers also signed up for free cleanup kits, which include a face mask, trash bags, safety instructions, gloves, and, for the first 60 signed up, a collapsible trash grabber.

Love Your Park Solo Cleanup kits. Image courtesy of Fairmount Park Conservancy.

The response so far to Love Your Park Solo Cleanups this summer was overwhelmingly positive:
• The first 60 cleanup kits that included trash grabbers sold out within the first hour of announcing the campaign. To date, the team has distributed 460 cleanup kits.
• More than 568 volunteers have signed up to participate, with 250 of them indicated they want to be connected with their neighborhood Park Friends Group.
• To date, the Love Your Park program has received nearly $3,000 in donations to cover the cost of cleanup kits for others.
• The company Garbo Grabber is now offering a 15 percent discount (promo code: PHILLY15) on its trash grabbers, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the Conservancy.

This experience in Philadelphia demonstrates the power of elevating stewardship activities through branding and making clear invitations that remove barriers for potential stewards to step up.

Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration of The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and local partners.