Call for ideas about the future of public spaces after COVID-19

How can we inhabit and design our cities to be resilient and robust when facing unexpected shocks and stresses? Recent COVID-19 lock-down realities and social-distancing policies turned our cities and especially public spaces into lifeless abandoned areas. In critical times of the pandemic, playgrounds were fenced off, squares did not allow for social interaction and public transport became a hazardous way of moving around.

Besides these restrictions, it is impressive to observe that some public spaces were vividly adapted and experienced as a resource for regeneration, dialogue and hope. People are creatively responding to the new regulations and reclaiming our cities. For instance, the projects of the slow street program in Oakland, US, the play streets in Berlin, Germany or the food distribution activities in Salatiga City, Indonesia, brought encouraging inspirations for positive change.

Creative Climate Cities* and friends** observed the way society is slowly and powerfully reclaiming its spaces in public and semi-public spheres. The prevalent optimism inspired us to develop and illustrate our own visions about how we would like to experience our urban future. We would like to collect as many ideas as possible and have started a call for ideas amongst friends and followers to create collages expressing: “What if … public space..?”.

+++ WE EXTENDED OUR DEADLINE UNTIL FRIDAY THE 19TH OF JUNE 2020.+++

Please feel free to join us in this conversation by creating your vision about our urban future or by making suggestions and passing on links of inspiring projects.

Let’s dream together - write or send us your contribution to ideas@creativeclimatecities.org.

A template for the vision as before/after collages can be found here.

Please forward your image to ideas@creativeclimatecities.org so we can post them via our twitter and instagram channel. We will include your name in all posts and publications.

*Nadine Kuhla von Bergmann, Gian Marco Morigi, Wilhelm Will, Martina Trapani **Roberta Zucchetti, Marius Will, Joe Grey, Eleonora Santucci, Marta Iole Procaccio, Jasmin Schiele, Dr. Stefan Carsten, Nuria Hartmann, Dirk Strehlau, ...