Urban humanities as a framework for the study of public space during the pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has revealed limitations in traditional public space research methods. There is a need for new approaches to study and intervene during times of crisis. Interdisciplinary urban humanities approaches can help researchers respond to pandemic public space dynamics. This article develops a framework linking urban humanities practices – thick mapping, filmic sensing, and digital storytelling – to the production of space at multiple scales. A case study is presented of a course that employed these methods and proposed speculative design interventions to accommodate street vending, skateboarding, and unhoused people in the Westlake neighbourhood of Los Angeles.