COVID-19 is an invisible threat that has hugely impacted cities and their inhabitants. Yet its impact is very visible, perhaps most so in urban public spaces and spaces of mobility.
This international volume explores the transformations of public space and public transport in response to COVID-19 across the world, both those resulting from official governmental regulations and from everyday practices of urban citizens. The contributors discuss how the virus made urban inequalities sharper and clearer, and redefined public spaces in the ‘new normal’. Offering crucial insights for reforming cities to be more resilient to future crises, this is an invaluable resource for scholars and policy makers alike.
Table of Contents:
Introduction ~ Rianne van Melik, Pierre Filion & Brian Doucet
Part 1: What Constitutes Public Space?
Public Space and COVID-19: New Social Practices, Intensified Inequalities ~ Loren March and Ute Lehrer
Pandemic Pop-Ups and the Performance of Legality ~ Alexandra Flynn and Amelia Thorpe
Lessons From the Lockdown: Foregrounding Non-Privileged Perspectives Into the (Post-)COVID-19 City Debate ~ Luce Beeckmans and Stijn Oosterlynck
“Everybody Has To Move, You Can’t Stand Still”: Policing of Vulnerable Urban Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brussels ~ Mattias De Backer and Lucas Melgaço
Parks in a Pandemic: Attachments, Absences and Exclusions ~ Julian Dobson
Failure by Design? Neoliberalism, Public Space and the (Im)possibility of Lockdown Compliance in the UK ~ Conor Wilson
A Place for Life: Striving Towards Accessible and Equitable Public Spaces for Times of Crisis and Beyond ~ Anaid Yerena and Rubén Casas
Part 2: Public Space and Human Well-Being
How Can Inequalities in Access to Green Space Be Addressed in a Post-Pandemic World? Lessons From London ~ Meredith Whitten and Peter Massini
America Under COVID-19: The Plight of the Old ~ Setha Low and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris
Exploring Older Adults’ Experiences of Urban Space in the COVID-19 Lockdowns: Dutch and British Perspectives ~ Tess Osborne, Arlinde Dul and Louise Meijering
Public Libraries in Crises: Between Spaces of Care and Information Infrastructures ~ Alice Corble and Rianne Van Melik
The City and the Park in Times of Pandemic: Children’s Practices in Public Spaces Before and After the Lockdown in Porto, Portugal ~ Júlia Rodrigues, Lígia Ferro, João Teixeira Lopes and Eunice Castro Seixas
The Mundane and (Extra)ordinary Public Spaces in India: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Through an Everyday Lens in Chennai City ~ Lakshmi Priya Rajendran and Aamstrong Anjumuthu
The Resilience of Street Vendors in Surviving COVID-19 Crisis in Hanoi, Vietnam ~ Ha Minh Hai Thai, Phuong Quoc Dinh and Phuong Thu Nguyen
Part 3: Public Space and Mobility
City Cycling After COVID-19 for Interspecies Mobility Justice ~ Nicholas Scott
Mobility Justice and Social Inequality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jakarta ~ Harya S. Dillon and Deden Rukmana
Pandemic and Future-Proofing Cities: Pedestrian-Oriented Development as an Alternative Model to Transit-Based Intensification Centres ~ Neluka Leanage and Pierre Filion
Mercurial Images of the COVID-19 City ~ Emma Arnold
Conclusion ~ Rianne Van Melik, Brian Doucet and Pierre Filion
About the Author :
Rianne van Melik is Assistant Professor in Urban Geography at the Institute for Management Research (IMR), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Pierre Filion is Professor at the School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada.
Brian Doucet is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Social Inclusion at the School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada.
