Public places were critical to the social recovery from Covid-19. The Covid-19 Safer Space project was initiated by IF_DO to help them to reopen.

Libraries and churches. Youth clubs and village halls. Parks and markets. These are all places that help to support and sustain the public life of our communities—from large cities to villages. They are pieces of social infrastructure, and are essential for our collective physical and mental wellbeing. The Covid-19 crisis caused many of these places to close, and the social recovery from the virus depended on their reopening.

While Covid-19 was above all a public health crisis, it was also one of design. How we occupy and use space became profound and urgent questions, and design had a vital role in helping to answer them.

Fully funded by Innovate UK, the series of easy-to-use guides was designed to help anyone who worked in public places to understand how adapt them to enable their safe reopening and operation. They translated the often lengthy written guidance documents (whether from government or industry bodies), into clear and easy to understand diagrams.

The project was developed in partnership with national organisations, including: Libraries Connected, the Church of England, The Trussell Trust, UK Youth, the National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC), the Association of Independent Museums (AIM), Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), and the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA).

For more information and to download the guides, visit ifdo.co/saferspaces