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Is this the "new normal" we've heard so much about? A new rhythm of life has taken root in many countries around the world: Whac-A-Mole (New York Times). In places where the virus is mostly under control, control still requires an everyday infrastructure of masks, social distancing guides, and testing regimes—and even then, periodic outbreaks still need to get whacked.
Back in the United States, however, we are still a long way from even this plateau. New studies suggest that the Black Lives Matter protests have mercifully not caused a spike in coronavirus cases in the major cities where they took place (BuzzFeed News). However, in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, an over-eagerness to reopen and inadequate precautions have led to a rapidly deteriorating situation (Washington Post). These new numbers reinforce lessons we have heard before, but failed to learn, in particular: Outdoors is safer than indoors, and masks are safer than no masks (The Atlantic).
In the meantime, many of the solutions that keep us safe are informal, makeshift interventions by non-designers (CityLab). "Plexiglass screens hastily installed at bodega counters. Painted circles indicating where to sit in a park. Fancified caution tape criss-crossing benches and playgrounds that are not considered safe to use," writes Amanda Kolson Hurley. "Anywhere you go as the country starts to reopen, there’s evidence of how small business owners, municipal employees and other people who aren’t trained architects or designers have MacGyvered their domains in the cause of public health."
Whose streets? Black Streets. In another powerful call to action, Canadian urban planner Amina Yasin writes, "I invite all of us in urbanism fields, especially those who espouse 'cities for all' and 'open streets for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds,' to consider why Black people are harassed and dying in public spaces while jogging, riding their bicycles, walking, playing, bird watching in the park, having a barbeque, just existing in public space, or even—yes—driving their cars" (The Tyee).
The anti-racist actions that Yasin's recommends are also particularly relevant to placemaking practitioners: recognize your role; divest from the theory of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (at it's most basic level, "eyes on the street"); defund policing in favor of other city services; and abolish "communicide," or the destruction of place-based communities often done these days in the name of "revitalization."
The biggest racist monuments around: Around the country, protesters are pulling down confederate monuments, and city and state officials have been mostly supportive, some even removing other monuments themselves (Brookings). This momentum has led some activists and urbanist to argue for the removal of one of the largest physical manifestations of systemic racism in the United States: our urban highways (LA Times).
Formalizing Informality: In recent weeks, reopening restaurants has been reframed as a frilly extra as police brutality and COVID-19 continue to run rampant in American cities. But, as Tracy Loh and Annelies Goger write, "Reopening restaurants at this point is not about returning to normal, but adaptation and survival in an ongoing state of uncertainty" (Brookings). Al fresco dining and other adaptations may lead to more white brunchers, but it can also help these small businesses save themselves and make working conditions safer for restaurant workers.
However, as restaurants and retail businesses invent or imitate new ways of doing business in public space, cities should beware of how these "innovations" affect the people who were doing them first. For example, in New York City, informal vendors have long sold "nutcrackers" or cocktails to-go from coolers on the street, but a sudden liberalization of takeout drinks in response to COVID-19 has allowed formal bars and restaurants to compete with them (New York Times). We hope this turn to life al fresco prompts governments to consider how to provide paths to formalization for street vendors of all kinds.
Placemaking Playbook: Finally, here's a roundup of 14 recent innovative placemaking ideas making headlines:
- A guide to reopening playgrounds safely during COVID-19 (Kaboom!)
- 100 urban actions to mark 100 days of COVID-19 (COVID100.ca)
- The racist history of jaywalking laws (The Guardian)
- Placemaking interventions to mark a socially distanced Pride Month (Gay Cities)
- 10 ideas for turning buildings inside out (The Social Life Project)
- The Black-led urban gardens of Seattle's autonomous zone (The Stranger)
- A guide to asphalt art (Public Square)
- A restaurant reopening powered by shower curtains and rubber duckies in North Canton, OH (NPR)
- A "Reparations Now" street mural in Richmond, CA (Rich City Rides)
- A project to rebuild trust through vacant land in Wilmington, DE (Brookings)
- Resilience infrastructure that needlessly sacrifices today for tomorrow (Urban Omnibus)
- The end of Nextdoor's "Forward to Police" program (CityLab)
- A goodbye to the Segway (New York Times)
- An illustrated guide to understanding your city's budget (CityLab)
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