The Surprisingly Innovative Design of New York’s Streeteries – give people room to create, and things start to get interesting

A couple of nights ago, like many nights during the pandemic, Dianna Budds (the writer) went on a bike ride around Brooklyn — down the same streets she always does. Just a few weeks ago, they were deserted, but now they’re lively and filled with new additions to the built environment: so-called “streeteries” comprised of planters, vibrantly painted sheets of plywood, jersey barriers, picket fencing, cinder blocks, trellises, and all sorts of materials that someone could scrounge up at a hardware store in a pinch.

These parking spaces turned into outdoor restaurants are New York’s latest examples of COVID-19-inspired improvisational architecture — evidence of resourcefulness and creativity with limited means. They also hint at what the post-pandemic future might hold: a city life that’s more aesthetically vibrant.

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