Neighboring in the Time of Coronavirus? Paying Civil Attention While Walking the Neighborhood

Abstract

Whereas physical distancing slows the spread of COVID-19, tactics associated with it have the potential to exacerbate social isolation in our societies. Far from withdrawing from one another during this period, however, engagement in sanctioned localized leisure, particularly neighborhood walking, has facilitated a welcome resurgence in neighboring, an active engagement in authentic social interactions with neighbors, albeit from a safe distance. What existed as a social contract of civil inattention in public space appears to have shifted with the pandemic to greater civil attention. With this in mind, this critical commentary aims to explore how, in this time of crisis, neighborhood walking appears to have facilitated a rediscovery of our social connectedness as neighbors. While there is no guarantee the resurgence of neighboring will survive the pandemic, it warrants recognition that, at least early on in this crisis, leisure affordances play a role in strengthening social connections among familiar strangers.

Keywords:

• Sidewalks
• social affordances
• social infrastructure
• strangeness
• COVID-19

Notes

1 This term was first introduced to me by Mervyn Horgan (University of Guelph) who cited it in a newspaper article for which he was interviewed. The citation for the article is: Quan, D. (2020, March 29). ‘Tiny acts of solidarity’ are bridging our social distance. Can they last? Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/03/29/tiny-acts-of-solidarity-are-bridging-our-social-distance-can-they-last.html