by Cayley Delancy ’21
Since Mount Holyoke closed its campus in March, students have returned to homes in locations ranging from the rural mountains to major urban hubs. Despite social distancing recommendations, many municipalities have accommodated and even encouraged the need to go outdoors for exercise and sunlight. For example, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York stated on Thursday March 19, “If you have to get outside of the house to exercise, to get some fresh air, which is 100 percent necessary for a lot of people in a lot of circumstances, then do it." Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts said on Monday March 23, “I do not believe I can or should order U.S. citizens to be confined to their homes for days on end. It doesn’t make sense from a public health point of view, and it’s not realistic.” However, access and limitations to outdoor spaces plays out differently in urban areas than it might in the Pioneer Valley.
Jackie Park ’21 is at home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Park said it's been challenging for her to go outdoors during social distancing because, “there are some days where there are a lot of people outside, and some aren’t wearing masks or seem very nonchalant about the idea of social distancing and how precautions should still be implemented even during short walks.” Park said she wished she could spend more time outside, but is afraid to venture outside on nice days since there tend to be a lot of people.
Although Sidney Boker ’21 lives in the suburbs of Long Island, New York, she has experienced similar complacency among other pedestrians. “There are people who don’t seem to care and don’t make room when you pass by and that is upsetting, but it’s also really annoying when people get aggressive about social distancing. Sometimes, instead of both passers-by moving away from each other while they pass, I’ve been yelled at to stay 6 feet away even when they have room to move over on their end and I’d have to step into traffic.”
“The lakefront paths and parks have been closed because the first nice day outside during social distancing, the parks were overcrowded with people exercising,” said Hope Rogers, ’22 who lives in Chicago. “This has made it slightly more challenging to find open spaces that are empty enough on warm days, but my family is in a privileged position because there are still large, well-maintained parks in our neighborhood that we can spend time in, which is not the case across the city.”
Trinity Kendrick ’21 has also experienced difficulties in Houston, Texas. “I have a large backyard area that I can hang out in but I can’t really walk around my neighborhood because there’s no sidewalks and my area’s not the safest,” she said. “If my family and I want to walk long distances we would have to drive to a park, but the parks have been closed for the time being, so being outdoors besides my backyard hasn’t been very accessible to me.”
Beata Garrett ’20, of Mill Basin, Brooklyn, New York, spoke about different accessibility concerns that have been highlighted by the virus. Garrett said that they’re lucky enough to live in a less crowded neighborhood and have access to a park next door and a backyard. “Even on busy days, the park [doesn’t] have a lot of people. So I haven't felt the strain of accessibility as others have and have felt pretty safe going out, leaving aside the fact that I'm Chinese.” However, Garrett underscored that doing things like buying groceries has become more challenging for those with disabilities who have to wait in line or who have to take transportation to get to the nearest grocery store. “I haven't really seen measures addressing this,” said Garrett. “If anything the virus has shown us the necessity of funding more public places like public libraries where people can stay there for free.”
In addition to accessibility concerns, environmental inequalities in cities have been exacerbated with COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders. Rogers highlighted negative environmental factors like pollution in Chicago which disproportionately affects people of color and people from low-income backgrounds, making it harder for them to spend time outside safely. “[Chicago] recently made the decision to begin the demolition process on an old coal plant and air pollution spread throughout the surrounding area, which is a neighborhood of predominantly people of color,” said Rogers. “A local organization fought back and the demolition process stopped after a day, but particles remained in the air, making breathing conditions worse at a time when a disease that affects the lungs is already spreading.” Rogers highlights how environmental injustice and unequal access to outdoor spaces doesn’t stop being a problem when the brunt of the pandemic is over. “[In Chicago], access to outdoor spaces was already a privilege rather than a universal right in many parts of the city before the pandemic started, so the shelter-in-place order has brought to the surface issues that were already there.”
Despite difficulties, outdoor spaces can provide positive mental relief during social distancing. “I've actually been spending way more time outdoors than I usually do when I'm home because it's the only thing to do,” said Olivia Marble ’21. “I live in a suburban area so I have space to go outside but I’ve never appreciated it before now.” Boker said that she would like to spend more time outdoors, but the constant flow of depressing news, school work and poor weather has made it challenging for her to find the motivation to go outside. Rogers also said that, “Being able to walk to the lakefront or a park really helps my mental health when I start to feel closed-in.”
These experiences certainly do not begin to encompass the range of experiences Mount Holyoke students have faced outdoors in urban environments during social distancing. However, it is apparent that while outdoor spaces can serve as a place of peace during an otherwise stressful time period, pedestrians not abiding by social distancing guidelines and crowding in public spaces can limit accessibility to safe time outdoors.