Questions to Ask When Designing for Distance

Photo credit: @nswartsell

Photo credit: @nswartsell

Baltimore City is beginning to reopen certain businesses as long as they follow specific guidelines around physical distancing. This has led many public and private organizations, companies, and agencies to consider what outdoor dining and street closures could look like. Restaurants especially have to rethink how to maintain capacity to make opening economically viable, while keeping customers spread apart. 

While this can be viewed as an opportunity to reimagine public space to prioritize people instead of traffic, we must also think critically about how Black people, people experiencing homelessness, people experiencing mental health challenges, and other marginalized communities are prioritized and made to feel safe in these public spaces. The City of Baltimore currently requires that businesses seeking a permit for outdoor dining or street closures must address the following: ADA Compliance, CDC guidelines, waste disposal, pest control, and possess an alcohol control plan. 

But for any project that moves forward, we should also ask these questions to ensure success: 

  1. What is the plan to educate businesses when people who aren't patrons of the businesses inevitably use the space? Is it allowed? Will the guidance be to use de-escalation methods over law enforcement if there is a conflict between patrons and other users?

  2. What public resources are being used to help businesses remain open? Are they being distributed in an equitable and transparent way? 

  3. What is the outreach plan for business districts that primarily serve neighborhoods of color? Have neighbors or businesses located in these neighborhoods expressed an interest or need? 

  4. Have discussions happened among the project leads and government agencies or the Mayor's office on how to implement in a manner that respects and maintains people’s right to protest? Have protest organizers been included in the process? 

  5. If the goal is for businesses to operate without patrons entering their building, is there a plan to provide public restrooms? Who pays for them and for their maintenance? 

  6. If the project is soliciting public participation in design, is there an outreach plan to ensure lots of different people in Baltimore are made aware of the opportunity? If the contract is awarded, are designers compensated fairly? 

Bikemore believes in equity in all policies. Policies aren’t just laws or regulations but also include rules that can be found in permit applications, public/private partnerships, and even in the ways private businesses operate. Policies often perpetuate or establish cultural norms that create an ingroup and an outgroup overtly or covertly. This can lead to discrimination. 

We are excited to see the creative ways businesses and City agencies repurpose space, and hope to collaborate with and hold accountable all involved to see that these issues are addressed. 

Through reading (some resources listed below) and conversations, these are some questions we’ve been thinking about - but we know there are more. More questions to ask, more norms to question, new ways to think. 

We’re interested in talking with others involved in these projects, and businesses or business districts trying to figure this out. Contact us at info@bikemore.net with your ideas or questions. 

Link to resources:

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