How Should We Design Parks for a Pandemic?

Madison Comfort is a grade ten student at Medway High School near London, Ontario, and recently joined our team of teenage contributors at young & free press. This is her first article! Madison has a strong interest in environmental issues, urban life and community-building.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, parks and green-spaces have provided people the opportunity to seek some fresh air and a change of scenery. Our daily routines have changed drastically. With little information on when the pandemic will end, our need for parks and green-spaces will continue to grow. This raises the question: how could parks be better-designed to be adaptable and sustainable, even during a pandemic? 

Hand sanitizer has been a crucial item to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Good hygiene and hand-washing techniques are simple ways to keep everyone safe. Even before the pandemic, parks were filled with germs from community use. How often are benches and play equipment deep-cleaned? This pandemic experience provides us with the opportunity to look for ways to make our parks more sanitary. If all parks had hand sanitizing stations, it would help to decrease the spread of the virus and other germs. Parks could also be designed to include multiple paths for people who are biking, walking, and running. This would help reduce the amount of people on one path and allow for physical distancing in a pandemic.

While museums, galleries and theatres are temporarily closed, we are unable to experience many forms of art. I see an opportunity to incorporate art into our parks to help us look at everyday life from a new perspective. This would tap into our collective creativity and generate a new awareness of local and regional artists. What if we added opportunities for large-scale murals on a rotating basis? Parks could also include artwork on paths and new landmark sculptures. In addition, art-walkways within parks would give people a source of entertainment as they pass by. We can also find ways to incorporate learning into art in our shared green spaces, perhaps by highlighting important environmental issues in sculptures and carvings and even installing education stations for children that focus on the impact of littering and pollution. Adding new signs that talk about local historical events and community leaders would highlight for people the importance of their area and may spark their interest in doing more research on the topics. Finally, I think that establishing more outdoor theatres could bring people together to watch live performances, movies, and small concerts. All of these ideas present a new challenge for urban planners and landscape architects: how can we bring people together while still providing the flexibility to keep everyone apart? Imagine a small outdoor theatre with a seating grid that would allow families and small groups to maintain a degree of separation. If arts and culture need to shift outside, this may lead to some cool innovations in urban design. 

This photo was taken in Victoria Park in downtown London, Ontario, on Saturday, May 2nd, 2020. The chalk drawing offers a hint of how arts & culture projects may need to move outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow for physical distancing. This presents a challenge — and an opportunity — for artists and municipalities. Photo by Andrew Gunn, young & free press

When playgrounds started to close and children were unable to play together due to physical distancing, I started to wonder what could be included in parks so that children could continue to gather. Parks could incorporate more space for individual games and activities such as hopscotch or chalk walls. This would allow kids to keep the distance required while also being able to socialize and have fun. 

After this pandemic, we will need time for everyone to feel comfortable again in large crowds. With many concerts, festivals and large gatherings taking place at spots like Victoria Park and Harris Park in London, safety precautions will need to be established in order to make community members feel safe and comfortable. Personally, I don't believe that many people will attend large, crowded events until a vaccine is available, and even after a vaccine is released, people may still be hesitant about attending these large events. I anticipate that new protocols will need to be put in place for large events and gatherings with pre-entry screening and increased security. I also think that throughout the venue there will be the need for multiple sanitizing stations and sufficient signage that provides people with information on how to stay safe. The experience of attending a concert or festival may never be the same again.    

Here is a shot from the Home County Music & Art Festival in Victoria Park in London, Ontario, in July 2019. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may not see scenes like this for a while. The organizers of Home County cancelled the event for 2020 with hopes to return in 2021. Other major London events have been cancelled, too, including TD Sunfest and Start.ca Rocks the Park. Photo by Andrew Gunn, young & free press

In light of this pandemic, we have been reminded of how much we take our parks and green spaces for granted. There is a refreshing freedom in the ability to go outside and simply enjoy nature and some fresh air. Now, we have the chance to reflect on how we can better design our parks to be adaptable, sustainable and user-friendly, even in the event of a future pandemic. This may lead to parks becoming more safe, interesting and vibrant spaces.