Take the Lead
Public space stewards and community groups can help empower communities to safely come back outdoors and enjoy their public spaces with confidence. Prioritize additional cleaning measures on park infrastructure, educate and manage social distancing and help the community find new opportunities and ways to experience their public spaces.
Communicate the Social Contract
Reinforce the community’s collective social contract to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by communicating to your patrons how they should safely use your public spaces. Spread confidence, not fear, on physical site signage – you can also request free informational signage from the City here.
Clean and Monitor
Review CDC and City recommendations for your activity type and create a health and safety plan if appropriate. Click here for information, templates, and other resources from the City regarding recreation.
Volunteer Coordination
While organizing volunteer efforts (beautification, art, food delivery, cleaning and other projects), prioritize safety first. Provide, or ensure, all participants have the appropriate protective equipment to help their communities while being protected, and are practicing spatial distancing with fellow volunteers and the general public while volunteering.
Activation Ideas
Repurpose Spaces for People
The Presidio Golf Course temporarily closed their fairway to golfers and opened up the course to the general public. The course became an open lawn for walkers and sandtraps turned into mini beaches for play (just add water and toys!). Reimagine how your open spaces can be repurposed in a nontraditional manner to best serve the community.
Adjust Your Markets
Outdoor markets selling food have been considered “essential businesses” and other types of markets (like flea markets) are the first group events allowed to be open to the public. Follow guidance from your local jurisdictions to minimize event density, control entry/exit points, and install signage to inform your patrons of the market’s policies. (Click here for guidance from the City of SF about operating an essential business.) Adjustments made by the City’s many farmers’ markets can provide a helpful model. But also look to other communities for inspiration to how your market can space out its vendors (like Myammar’s town market), phase activity and programming throughout the day and help customers visualize appropriate distance when shopping.
Create Opportunities for People to Connect Safely
Foster a socially-distanced small gathering. Or, create events for people to experience collectively without needing to be in the same space at the same time. Examples include rainbow or teddy bear scavenger hunts, or art-based projects. For example, – the Love Letters to Chinatown project collects messages of appreciation for the New York City Chinatown and will artistically display these messages (in English and Chinese) to residents in public spaces.
Use Your Mission to Educate
Changing social behavior requires time and repetition. Use art, stories and elements of your organization’s mission (like repurposing the Parks Conservancy’s animal wingspan lessons into a social distancing campaign), to help patrons visualize social distance, encourage consistent mask wearing outdoors and community solidarity.
Key resources for public space stewards and community groups to operate safely manage their spaces during COVID-19
Health and Safety Planning from the City of SF for Recreation and social gatherings
Guidance for Administrators in Parks and Recreational Facilities (CDC)
Stay Home Essential Needs (City of SF)
How to Communicate to Your Public About Safe Use of Parks (NRPA)