The impact of COVID-19 on public space: an early review of the emerging questions – design, perceptions and inequities

ABSTRACT Restrictions on the use of public space and physical distancing have been key policy measures to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and protect public health. At the time of writing, one half of the world’s population has been asked to stay home and avoid many public places. What will be the long term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on public space once the restrictions have been lifted? The depth and extent of transformation is unclear, especially as it relates to the future design, use and perceptions of public space. This article aims to highlight emerging questions at the interface of COVID-19 and city design. It is possible that the COVID-19 crisis may fundamentally change our relationship with public space. In the ensuing months and years, it will be critical to study and measure these changes in order to inform urban planning and design in a post-COVID world.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Cities & Health

• Publication date

  2020-07-31

• Fields of study

  Political Science, Sociology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1080/23748834.2020.1780074
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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