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Tape Measures

Case Description To implement and visualize social distancing measures, many commercial organizations and municipalities used tape to indicate where people were not allowed sit or stand. Taping patterns and shapes, such as large dots and crosses, offered a quick way to tackle the problem of collectively using public spaces. The Instagram account @tape_measures collected many…

Augmented Assembly

Case Description The social distancing rules during the Covid-19 pandemic sparked new and creative ideas to indicate social distance in public spaces. The majority of these ideas and interventions delineated shapes on the ground using semi-permanent solutions, such as paint, tape or stickers. The Augmented Assembly project proposes a less permanent solution in the form…

Pop-up bike lane

Case Description In times of pandemic, in order to relieve the local public transport and, at the same time, to encourage people to be physically active, Germany decided to promote safe walking and cycling in its cities. To do so, Berlin launched an eight-kilometer pop-up cycle path, which repurposed road space initially intended for motorized…

#StreetsForPeople

Case Description Due to the pandemic, the ‘Urban Activistas’ group realized “how much of our public space is given to cars”, especially in narrow streets with parking space on both sides. With the #StreetsForPeople initiative, the group aimed to give back space to pedestrians and cyclists in the city, and to ask attention from the…

Beachbelt kit

Case Description The design collective JAJAxD developed a simple idea for people to enjoy public beaches while keeping appropriate distance during the Covid-19 pandemic. With a colorful nylon ribbon and three to four wooden pegs as support elements, the ‘Beachbealt kit’ enables people to demarcate their own safe space on the sand. It can be…

StoDistante

Case Description By visually indicating an appropriate distance between people, this intervention supports the process of reopening public areas safely after a period of lockdown. To indicate the proper distance, the designers from Caret Studio created a temporary solution consisting of a grid of squares, painted on the floor. The intervention called StoDistante (in English…

Walk Walk Dance

Case Description Lockdown and pandemic in general have caused the emptying of cities, especially public spaces. The Montreal-based art and design studio designed a system to make public spaces enjoyable again. Their design is based on the use of stripes on the ground, made of paint, chalk or adhesive that are able to play music,…

Personal space in cities

Case Description With the interactive installation ‘Personal Space in Cities’, interactive art studio Handson tries to spatially indicate the distance that needs to be respected during the pandemic. The system monitors the speed at which people are moving, the size of personal space that is required, the time spent in proximity of one another, and…

Beatrixpark and Maasboulevard distancing circles

Case Description The municipalities of Rotterdam and Schiedam positioned circles in public parks to support people in keeping a safe distance from one another. With the help of employees the municipal cleaning services, several circles were painted on the grass of public parks. The aim of the project is to offer people a playful and…

Checkerboard lawn for social distancing

Case Description Cultural venues across the world closed their doors when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The contemporary art gallery, Galerie EL in the Polish town of Elblag, was no exception, but director Adriana Kotynska wished to open the gallery’s green outdoor courtyard for public activities. During the especially dry Polish summer of 2020, the gallery…

Tools & Other Resources

During the research process, we had the opportunity to explore different perspectives on how to promote resilience in neighbourhoods and cities, which resulted in a variety of resources. Listed below, you will find academic and professional publications, as well as a series of webinars, where we were joined by experts to discuss the topic of designing for neighbourhood resilience while addressing social and ecological issues in an integral way.

Webinars

Designing for Neighborhood Resilience #1: From Covid crisis to post-Covid resilience

Designing for Neighborhood Resilience #1: From Covid crisis to post-Covid resilience

Webinar
Designing for Neighborhood Resilience #2: Neighborhood resilience in practice

Designing for Neighborhood Resilience #2: Neighborhood resilience in practice

Webinar
Designing for Neighborhood Resilience #3: Bridging the divide

Designing for Neighborhood Resilience #3: Bridging the divide

Webinar
EDRA | Building Resilient Neighborhoods in the Post-Covid City: Bridging the Social and Ecologial

EDRA | Building Resilient Neighborhoods in the Post-Covid City: Bridging the Social and Ecologial

Webinar
WUF11 | Mapping Resilient Communities: the Role of Public Space

WUF11 | Mapping Resilient Communities: the Role of Public Space

Webinar
Presentation at Shaping Resilient Communities International Conference

Presentation at Shaping Resilient Communities International Conference

Webinar

Publications

Human/Non-Human Public Spaces: Designing for resilient urban neighborhoods

Human/Non-Human Public Spaces: Designing for resilient urban neighborhoods

Publication
Design Framework for Neighbourhood Resilience: Bridging human and other-than-human perspectives in urban design

Design Framework for Neighbourhood Resilience: Bridging human and other-than-human perspectives in urban design

Publication
Public Spaces and Urban Resilience: state of affairs in Dutch cities and exploring human and non-human perspectives

Public Spaces and Urban Resilience: state of affairs in Dutch cities and exploring human and non-human perspectives

Publication
Designing human / non-human public spaces for neighborhood resilience: Design Exploration 1 – Design charette for a resilient Holendrecht

Designing human / non-human public spaces for neighborhood resilience: Design Exploration 1 – Design charette for a resilient Holendrecht

Publication
Designing human / non-human public spaces for neighborhood resilience: Design Exploration 2 – Participatory program ‘Voor Jou, Voor Mij’ in Osdorp

Designing human / non-human public spaces for neighborhood resilience: Design Exploration 2 – Participatory program ‘Voor Jou, Voor Mij’ in Osdorp

Publication
Designing human / non-human public spaces for neighborhood resilience: Design Exploration 3 – Activating underused spaces for a resilient Diemen

Designing human / non-human public spaces for neighborhood resilience: Design Exploration 3 – Activating underused spaces for a resilient Diemen

Publication
Adaptive Public Spaces: Exploring digital transition for social and environmental benefit

Adaptive Public Spaces: Exploring digital transition for social and environmental benefit

Publication
Covid-19’s impact on public space: trends in Dutch cities as perceived by a Community of Practice

Covid-19’s impact on public space: trends in Dutch cities as perceived by a Community of Practice

Publication
Design Framework for Neighbourhood Resilience: Combining human and other-than-human perspectives into an integrated approach

Design Framework for Neighbourhood Resilience: Combining human and other-than-human perspectives into an integrated approach

Publication
Challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and design responses in public space: Towards strategies for more resilient post-Covid cities

Challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and design responses in public space: Towards strategies for more resilient post-Covid cities

Publication
Covid-19 and its impact on public urban space in the Netherlands: Ongoing trends and looking ahead

Covid-19 and its impact on public urban space in the Netherlands: Ongoing trends and looking ahead

Publication
Generating and disseminating intermediate-level knowledge on multiple levels of abstraction: An exploratory case in media architecture

Generating and disseminating intermediate-level knowledge on multiple levels of abstraction: An exploratory case in media architecture

Publication
MAB20 | Media Architecture for neighborhood resilience

MAB20 | Media Architecture for neighborhood resilience

Publication