The dining shed—soon to be banned in NYC—awakened a sense of what's possible with the city street

The Hounslow council sent £20 vouchers to every household to help the local economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Households had about two months to spend the voucher, which could purchase products or services at a range of businesses from cafes and cinemas to retailers and laundromats. Retailers can use an app to scan the vouchers and eventually redeem them for payments.

The city of Marion, Ohio, has allocated an alley for use as a community hub where diners can eat, families can frolick, and revelers can listen to live music. The space has benefitted the local economy, encouraging residents to come out and support vendors on main street. During the pandemic, it served as a place people could safely gather while enjoying fresh air and a lively atmosphere. The nearby city of Mount Vernon is taking notes from Marion's success.

The city of Baltimore escaped the worst of COVID-19 with high vaccination rates, high rates of health coverage, and strong support from political leaders who cooperated across ideological lines. Medicaid expansion helped achieve relatively high health insurance rates. Officials were also a bit more and cautious in reopening businesses and schools and relaxing mask requirements. The city didn’t escape the death and illness seen during the pandemic, but for these reasons it fared better than comparable areas.

Though police have removed barricades from the protest zone around George Floyd Square, it remains a popular gathering place for people. The church across from the spot where George Floyd was murdered in May 2020 has partnered with the Cultural Wellness Center to offer COVID-19 vaccines at the square in order to raise the vaccination rate of the surrounding community. The shots are free and recipients receive a $50 gift card for each dose of the two-dose series. While many people have come to get the vaccine begrudgingly, largely due to workplace and travel mandates, organizers are happy for any gains.

In Germany, where vaccination rollout has been slow, rapid antigen COVID-19 tests are used to allow people to attend indoor social, business, education, and personal care activities. There are 15,000 pop-up testing sites across the country, many in businesses that had fully or partially shut down due to the virus. People who want to participate in indoor activities like eating inside a restaurant need a negative rapid test that is no more than 24 hours old. The testing centers are funded by the government. While there is no conclusive evidence, experts believe widespread testing is lowering case numbers.

Many cities created "open streets" during the pandemic, limiting traffic on certain streets to give people a safe outdoor place to relax and play. Which programs outlive the pandemic depends on a host of factors, most especially how community-led the programs are. In Queens' Jackson Heights neighborhood, a densely populated community with many immigrants, closing a major street didn't work when police were at the barricades. But, under the leadership of the community, the daily closure turned into a street party and community-building event that is causing the city to rethink basic urban-planning concepts.

The state of Vermont has been able to keep COVID-19 cases to a minimal, at least in part by focusing on offering preventive protections for the most at-risk and vulnerable – such as the unhoused. The state's response has included "state-supported housing for the homeless, hazard pay, meal deliveries, and free, pop-up testing in at-risk communities," all of which prioritize high-risk populations rather than those who can easily self-isolate at home.

The Shared Spaces program is a pandemic-driven initiative that increases outdoor dining space in commercial areas. The initiative made the permit process more user friendly and less expensive. Over 1,200 outdoor dining applications were approved in three months, which is more than the city approved in 2018 and 2019 combined. The increased capacity of outdoor dining seating takes away other public spaces, usually parking and driving space, but the program’s success has helped businesses survive pandemic-related restrictions and officials are assessing the program to maintain it moving forward.

The coronavirus pandemic drastically reduced the ridership of the Monterey-Salinas Transit District, so the system shifted services to help the mostly rural community it serves. Despite cash-flow problems, unused drivers and vehicles helped Meals on Wheels deliver 8,000 meals to seniors and persons with disabilities, wi-fi-enabled commuter buses parked in rural areas to provide hot spots for students, and the system donated unused vehicles to groups serving veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and at-risk youth. The system continues to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances.

Restaurants in Providence, Rhode Island are "repurposing parking lots, waterfronts, and any adjacent land where an al fresco meal can be savored, public health preserved, and restaurant profits protected" during the coronavirus pandemic. Collaborative efforts by various elected officials, health officials, and emergency responders are making the idea to repurpose outdoor areas feasible, and some restaurants have already projected a significant success in profits.