Editor's Note: PBJ Design is a nonprofit in Nova Scotia, Canada, that creates placemaking projects that build healthy and connected communities. Their projects use interventions with art, movement, and nature to shift the way that people engage with their neighbors. The authors of this article, Alyson Dobrota and Gail Armour, lead PBJ’s projects, designing ideas that will create vibrant public spaces across Nova Scotia.

Every year, the change of seasons brings a shift to our communities as the weather turns crisp, the sun sets earlier, and people begin to move inside. Indoor markets and events are set up to encourage gatherings around the holiday season. This shift feels normal; we go through it each year without too much thought.

As we continue to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic, this winter will be different. The summer months have allowed many communities to reopen due to the ability to sit on patios, gather outdoors, and spend time outside in the warm weather. However, winter weather will be a barrier that will bring another adjustment to our ‘new normal’.

As this new normal evolves, new methods of building connected and vibrant communities are needed. Small interventions can allow people to continue to get outdoors, support local businesses, and reduce social isolation. Placemaking can be a powerful year-round tool, and perhaps this winter our communities will need these interventions more than ever before.

Here are a few of our ideas to make public spaces more vibrant and accessible this winter:‍

Heated Public Spaces

Going for long walks without getting cold in the winter is challenging. While summer weather allows us to go on a stroll, sit on a bench in a park, and grab a coffee at a local cafe and relax, walking in the winter usually consists of getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Warming huts are an exciting and beautiful way to encourage people to stop, rest, and warm up so that they can spend more time outdoors, connect with their community, and support local businesses. Warming hut competitions occur across Canada and are successful at getting more people outdoors. In Nova Scotia, we’re working on building warming huts on trail systems that function as rest stations to encourage trail use year-round.

While extending the patio season will help support local businesses, the cold weather may still remain a stubborn barrier for businesses making up lost revenue from the pandemic. Warming huts can also be situated on patios, to allow people to comfortably support local businesses in a safe way. Giving people a space to relax, warm up, and sip on a hot drink can help change perceptions of patios and public spaces in the winter months.‍

Outdoor Markets

Holiday craft shows are a great way to support local makers each year. This year will look different, but these markets are still possible while allowing for physical distancing. Tents, heaters, and other materials can build comfort in the winter for people to visit outdoor markets, build vibrant public spaces, and support local independent makers.

With a few shifts, many other events can follow public health protocols, too. Outdoor lighting can increase comfort and safety in public spaces, especially at night, encouraging people to linger. Other elements such as public outdoor fire pits are great ways to encourage community connection in a safe and physically-distanced way. ‍

Winter Picnic Sites

Many activities that people do in the summer don’t have to end just because winter has come. Picnics are an activity that can still be enjoyed in the winter months, with proper preparation. In Edmonton, Alberta, the city has created picnic sites that you can book all year round. Bring thermoses of hot tea, lots of blankets, and eat a meal outside! Adding fire pits to public spaces also makes winter picnics all the more comfortable and exciting.

Winter Porch Placemaking

While we spend more time at home these days, our neighborhood walks tend to be the most frequent outing. Porch placemaking encourages people to put engaging art in their windows, or on their doorstep, porch, or yard as a placemaking project for their community. Projects that make neighbors smile and spark a sense of connection will help people feel less isolated during these difficult times. Encouraging neighbors to put up snow sculptures, keep holiday lights up all winter, or even landscape their yard like these great examples from Winter City Edmonton are great ways to turn front yards into engaging displays.‍

Lighting Public Art Structures

Lighting projects that glow up public spaces can help counter the darkness of winter. With the sun setting earlier, people spend more time outside in the dark. Lighting already makes spaces safer and more inviting at night, but using lighting to create engaging public art can help fight the winter blues even further.‍

Shifting Our Perspective on Winter

Perhaps the biggest barrier to winter is our perception of it. While winter can be a challenging time of year, it is also a time for play. Many people have fond childhood memories of playing in snow banks after a big storm or building snow forts in their neighborhood. Providing opportunities for communities to re-spark this sense of play through placemaking is a great way to encourage a shift in perspective. If people view winter as an exciting time of the year, and are willing to adapt, the season could begin to look a lot more bright.

Winter weather doesn’t have to be a barrier to getting outside, connecting with neighbors, or supporting local businesses. What is needed this winter as we live with COVID is a perspective shift. With the right interventions, we can still adapt and participate in our communities.