Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

During national lockdowns and tiered restrictions, visitation to public spaces such as parks has increased dramatically. This increased concentration of people in particular areas poses risk of virus transmission from those who are not abiding by COVID rules. Despite their best efforts, Police have limited capacity to respond to breaches of COVID-19 regulations. As a result there are many breaches going unchallenged and reports of a culture of breaches taking hold. Volunteers, namely COVID Marshals or Ambassadors, can create more capacity to engage, explain and encourage compliance and, when combined with a public app to report breaches, can target deployment to breach hot spots. Consider:

• Identify the types of breaches it may be appropriate to deploy COVID Marshals to so they can engage, explain and encourage compliance
• Identify, select, and train people who may be suitable as COVID Marshals (follow ISO22319)
• Identify safe working practices for the COVID Marshals e.g. deployment in pairs
• Using reports from the public to identify public spaces where breaches are likely to occur
• Develop a system to deploy, monitor, support, and debrief COVID Marshals

Green spaces have become fundamental to people's physical and mental wellbeing through COVID-19, especially during periods of lockdown. Increased use of these spaces requires some adaptations to green space management to ensure the recovery of both people and the environment. Consider:

• Campaigns to make the public aware that many green spaces and parks in the UK are run by local volunteers - and that the limited funding and capacity means that essential services such as waste collection are limited and the public can help by taking their litter home with them to not cause litter issues
• Campaigns to boost volunteer numbers to help the maintenance of green spaces
• Increased signage in local green spaces to remind people that they can help protect their local ecosystems in times where green spaces are seeing increased human traffic by:
  • Sticking to paths to avoid disturbing woods and meadows
  • Not disturbing deadwood as this is vital to local ecosystems
  • Not removing anything from the green space
  • Taking litter home

COVID-19 has exposed disparities in access to open and green space. Improved access can have positive effects on physical and mental health, communities as a whole and the environment. Consider impacts on:

The individual:

• Provides areas for exercise, and improves mental health
• Park closures and restrictions on movement due to COVID-19 negatively and disproportionately effects those without gardens and those who are less economically well off

The community:

• Increasing the quantity of green spaces reduces traffic which reduces pollution and encourages city safety
• Green space for social housing directly addresses socio-economic disparities regarding
• Can simultaneously address other environmental factors such as flood risk management

In the UK, parts of the city of York is made up of very narrow lanes in which social distancing would not be possible. The following measures, which could be applied to other locations with similar city designs are considered:

• Develop a pedestrian one-way-system with road markings, cones or barriers to mitigate people having to pass closely to one another. Consider markings that are temporary to preserve areas of historic interest
• Install hand sanitiser dispensers on streets, recognising that these may be alcohol based
• Initiate measures to keep pedestrians moving such as restricting photography