Public Views on the Reallocation of Street Space Due to COVID-19

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Many towns and cities have reallocated street space in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was done to allow more social distancing for physical activity and to provide space for restaurants to offer outdoor dining. We used data collected via an online Qualtrics panel of New Jersey residents (n = 1,419) to evaluate how these street closures were viewed. Did people take advantage of the opportunity to dine outside? Was walking more attractive with more space? How did respondents feel about changes in traffic patterns due to the closures? Did people walk more frequently? Results suggested that there was substantial public support for these types of interventions that allowed for more walking and more lively town centers (about 40%–45% of respondents expressed support, and only 35% had negative views;a large share was neutral). Those with negative views believed that street closures increased congestion and that outdoor dining made it more difficult to walk. Takeaway for practice: In New Jersey, many towns are considering making COVID-inspired street changes permanent. There is broad support for this, though transportation agencies remain an impediment. We suggest that the current groundswell of support for street changes represents a rare opportunity to implement street design changes that support pedestrians and outdoor activities. © 2022 American Planning Association, Chicago, IL.

Managing the curb – Public space and use of curbside cafes during the Coronavirus pandemic

Urban streets, especially curbside spaces, are increasingly complex and often contested. The Coronavirus pandemic created a new demand for street space to enable physical distancing. The urgency of the pandemic and the fear of covid exposure suspended traditional community engagement opportunities, opposition from residents and business owners, and considerations over the privatization of public street space. This exploratory paper uses the case studies of Toronto and Chicago to trace the past and present regulations and programs affecting curbside parking spaces. Through these cases, this paper addresses larger questions that relate the historical conceptions around curbside parking use with those put forward in response to the pandemic. Given the popularity of pandemic-related curbside space programs and their potential to become long-term interventions, this paper also raises several questions around privatization, access and social equity that must be addressed in future iterations of programs affecting curbside space. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Outdoor Terraces in Barcelona and Milan: Configuration of New Spaces for Social Interaction

This work approaches the phenomenon of the outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants, analysing the role of these privately owned collective elements whose layout has shaped the urban landscape at the pavement level for more than a century, and whose presence has become essential in the streets of many cities after a pandemic. The research highlights the interest of terraces as dynamic elements of urbanity: private domains in the public space where people eat collectively;they are apparently simple units that synthesise complex conflicts between individual behaviours and property boundary conditions. The investigation shows the increasing expansion that outdoor terraces have experienced since 2020, using the cities of Barcelona and Milan as case studies. A series of GIS maps show the image of both cities before and after the pandemic, allowing us to evaluate the amount of public space allocated to terraces, measure their increase in number and sur-face, establish the proportions of occupation of the street and find the patterns of concentration in the public space. Finally, the article offers some policy and planning recommendations based on the research findings. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.