If the combined effects of winter's cold and the pandemic has you bummed, check out this community-building exercise in the frozen North.
Hazel Borys writes:
Where I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, we have been under Critical Code Red COVID restrictions since November 12. Within this setting, I was beginning to really miss my friends, a sentiment shared by most everyone. While we would meet up for physically-distanced, masked walks, the lack of our usual sense of community exacerbates the uncertainty sparked by the pandemic. This seems to be a global feeling. On one of our walks on the banks of the Assiniboine River in late November, we discussed ways that we could gather safely, stay connected, have some fun, and give back to our neighbours.
Borys goes on to lay out the process for a pop-up park she built on the river with her friends. And then shows how it implements three out of 22 actions of the Pandemic Toolkit aimed at rebuilding local economies and connections. For example:
4: Enable outdoor learning... via use of parkland.
9: Expedite temporary uses.
10: Increase access to nature ... via pocket parks.
FULL STORY: Serpentine Maze: Pop-up parks in a time of pandemic
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association