Little Libraries and Mini Food Pantries: Experiments in urban resilience during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, Urban Resilience, tactical urbanism, experimental urbanism, Berkeley California
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Governments, policymakers, and academics (Florida et al 2021) are shifting their focus to the long term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on cities, neighborhoods and communities. Private and generally small-scale projects that sprang up during lockdown and their continual transformative potential have tended to be overlooked. Initially seen as temporary solutions to pandemic-era restrictions on indoor gatherings, parklets have since become a permanent fixture in many cities. Similarly, in an attempt to respect social distancing, manage personal time and nurture a sense of community, residents of Berkeley, California set-up different types of small-scale projects such as little art libraries, small puzzle libraries and mini food pantries at the edge of their properties and along sidewalks during the shelter-in-place mandate of 2020-2021. These projects, reliant on human interaction, were inspired and encouraged by the increased presence of foot traffic during the pandemic. Some of these experiments survived as purely physical projects, while others have since expanded into the virtual world and have become part of a national and global network that relies on new modes of exchanges and collaborations. Although experimental in nature and designed to address an immediate challenge, a number of these projects have become more permanent. This paper will examine a selection of these projects, uncover the goals, and the various modes of collaboration that they encourage as they contribute to the creation of more resilient communities and environments.