Over the past decades, the academic debate on public space has been somewhat Janus-faced, with researchers generally expressing one of two considerations (van Melik, 2017). One set of authors has depicted public space as a socially open and accessible space where meeting and interaction occur, tolerance for diversity is enhanced, democratic values prevail, and art, theater, and performance take place (for example, Lofland, 1989; Watson, 2006; Valentine, 2008). Concurrent with this romanticized ideal, other authors express a sense of loss or nostalgia about public space being eroded and hence being under threat (for example, Mitchell, 1995; 2003; Kohn, 2004). In his critique of American urbanism, Michael Sorkin (1992) even went so far as to herald the ‘end of public space’. Authors in this second camp have painted a rather pessimistic picture of modern urban life; one that is characterized by neoliberal urban planning, consumerism, restrictive security measures, and social exclusion.

In a similar vein, chapters in this book by a mix of scholars (in law, criminology, geography, sociology, planning, architecture, and so on) have depicted both bleak and promising developments concerning public space and mobility in times of a global pandemic. With increased use of parks and pedestrianoriented developments such as cycling and walking (see for example Chapters Sixteen and Eighteen), public spaces appear to be rediscovered by both policy makers and users alike. Public spaces are high on the urban planning and policy agendas, as Whitten and Massini (Chapter Nine) demonstrate when discussing London's policies for greening the city. Osborne, Dul and Meijering highlight in Chapter Eleven the growing importance of the hyperlocal level, with older residents in the UK and the Netherlands increasingly discovering public spaces and services in their local neighborhood, which might facilitate ‘ageing-in-place’. The pandemic has increased the awareness of many national governments that public space plays an important role in facilitating human well-being. Such trends and insights will undoubtedly make cities healthier and more enjoyable to live in.

However, the majority of the chapters in this volume can be placed in the ‘second camp’. Some public spaces such as parks and libraries in the US and UK were already suffering from decades of austerity and neoliberal planning, as Chapters Six, Seven and Eight illustrate. As such, Corble and van Melik (Chapter Twelve) speak of a ‘crisis-upon-crisis situation’, where these pre-existing conditions have intersected with the pandemic.