Parks in a Pandemic: Attachments, Absences, and Exclusions

Abstract

One of the ironies of the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK has been the sudden prominence of public parks and green spaces, as these spaces have been the undervalued poor relations of urban planning for more than a decade. This chapter draws on recent research on the importance of urban green spaces for mental wellbeing and the impacts of COVID-19 on users’ experiences of urban parks and public spaces in Sheffield. It describes which publics are served by public space in a pandemic, and who is excluded and made invisible through shifting perceptions and uses of green spaces.