There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is redefining our relationship to public spaces. If our communities are ever going to reopen safely, we need to find more ways to keep people apart and make better use of these spaces. In other words, we must adapt.

As part of HMC’s ongoing research effort to better understand the longterm effects of COVID-19 and develop solutions for civic spaces, we spoke with various representatives from different public agencies including police, fire, sheriff, city and country administrators, and consultants from public safety and engineering companies to gain insight and understanding of COVID-19’s impact on future facility operation and design.

HMC is committed to sharing our findings with the industry in a series of white papers that focus on five main areas of Technology, Adaptability and Flexibility, Regulatory/Budgetary/Institutional Impacts, Space Needs Restructuring, and Impact to Wellness/Mental Health. In this paper, we focus on Adaptability and Flexibility within our civic built environments.