Open Spaces and Healthy Places
For many of us, these are difficult days. We’re worried about jobs and housing, getting food and taking care of our families. We’ve lost work and childcare and time with the people we love. But there are ways to cope with the stress of being apart and the hardship of navigating this new normal. Keeping active, getting outside and seeing other people, if from a distance, are high on that list. Converting streets to places for people to commute, be active, and get fresh air helps us maintain our distance while doing just that.
This will be important for many months to come, as pandemic restrictions ease but physical distancing measures persist. We will need sufficient space to walk in our neighbourhoods, to frequent essential businesses while minimizing infection risk, and, as we open up the economy, to frequent beloved restaurants and cafes. In this vein, the capital of Lithuania is dedicating large tracts of its urban space to restaurant patios, to help the hard-hit industry recover.
Making room for people will be particularly important in communities where public space and pedestrian infrastructure is at a premium: equity needs to be a pillar of a pandemic-response strategy, and of everyday planning, recognizing that not everyone is affected equally, nor has equal access to amenities. Finally, it will be crucial to creating viable transportation options as we start to travel more. We know a return to public transit is likely to be gradual in the throws of a pandemic. At the same time, we want to avoid a resurgence of the private automobile, which contributes substantially to an existing health crisis, one caused by sedentary lifestyles and the lack of transportation options. Air pollution alone is responsible for 14,600 premature deaths in Canada every year. Today, one in five Canadians live with a chronic illness, related to physical activity and diet, accounting for one third of total healthcare spending.
How an acute crisis can help us address long-term challenges
The actions we take now ensure safety, health, and well-being in a time of crisis. But these actions, like converting roads to places for people on foot or bike, mirror the ways we can address longer-term crises like climate change and chronic disease.
Milan, Paris and New Zealand are leveraging their responses to the current pandemic to address climate change, economic recovery and long-term health. Their efforts show that the swift actions we take now can create healthier places and people today and into the future.
Additional Resources
Listen to our Executive Director Celia Lee talk about making space for people here on Radio-Canada.
Explore thoughtful approaches to converting streets to places for people, while addressing equity:
Toole Design: Rebalancing Streets for People, Webinar and Resources and Tactical Urbanist’s Guide to Materials and Design
Green Action Center: Physical Distancing Requires us to Rethink our Public Spaces