Abstract
Public spaces hold a complex and contested status in contemporary life. Spaces such as parks and squares are often held up as sites of possible sociality and expression where people can congregate with others, be seen, and be heard. At the same time, such spaces are also seen by some to be sites of potential fear and incivility. As a result, the very status of such spaces as public has come to be at risk from increasing privatization and policing pursued in the interest of specific segments of “the public.” This chapter will reflect on the status of public spaces emerging from within the COVID-19 pandemic. It questions the extent to which the pandemic will represent a shift in the terms of such debate over public space or simply turn out to be an event through which certain long-standing concerns subsist or come to be extended.
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Simpson, P. (2021). Refiguring Public Spaces?. In: Andrews, G.J., Crooks, V.A., Pearce, J.R., Messina, J.P. (eds) COVID-19 and Similar Futures. Global Perspectives on Health Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70179-6_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70179-6_31
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