COVID + Public Space

ANALYSIS - REFLECTION - ACTION

COVID + Public Space

Public space is and has been an integral part of our social and cultural histories. For our Aboriginal people, public space is Country-where belonging, wisdom and identity are born.

Just as the First Nations people share Country with all of us, we are responsible to create spaces which are welcoming and inclusive regardless of age, wealth, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Spaces which draw on our common fundamental needs as living beings. In many instances, prior to COVID-19 and in the face of urbanism, public space in our cities and communities had already begun to lose its sense of purpose and vibrance. With a focus on capitalist venture over community, cities became places of work and economic worth. Public space was claimed for development or left abandoned; its value forgotten. This has created a shift in the value of relationships between people, space and place.

In 2020, COVID-19 came to remind us, all people, local and global, of our vulnerability. It created a change in the way we see and prioritise our living and has therefore created a shift in social interactions between people, space and place. Initially, as social restrictions were implemented, cities were drained of workers with a shift to ‘work from home’, tourists and consumer engagement (restricted beyond the bare essentials). A critical societal shift of health before wealth became a priority. With such a focus, there was an awakening to the value of relationships, with others and with the environment- spaces and places.