TORONTO -- When lockdowns close off public sports spaces such as basketball courts and soccer fields, they disproportionately affect lower-income and racialized families in dense cities, land-use experts say.
Earlier this month, Ontario鈥檚 lockdown moves , saying they鈥檙e some of the least likely places to contract COVID-19. And public spaces and land-use experts say it鈥檚 hard not to see disproportionate effects of these measures playing out along socioeconomic and racial lines.
鈥淚 think that we need to be very democratic making the laws鈥 it's very clear that we are targeting citizens in different ways,鈥 said Gil Penalosa, founder of 8 80 Cities, a non-profit organization striving to enhance mobility and equity for public spaces.
In a phone interview with CTVNews.ca, he said the Ontario government doesn鈥檛 realize its actions are furthering an ongoing disparity in amenities and over-policing. 鈥淚 think they are moving in the wrong direction and they are targeting the wrong communities,鈥 he said.
Indoor sports venues across the country such as gyms, hockey and curling arenas have been closed throughout the pandemic due to the risk of indoor spread. But recently, Ontario closed outdoor venues such as tennis courts, golf courses, soccer fields, and wrapped up disc golf baskets and .
But although the restrictions and bylaw enforcement efforts are broad, Penalosa said they鈥檙e hitting those who already have less access to outdoor spaces. that in urban areas, where parks serve as the predominant nearby green space, restrictions to access may be felt more acutely.
And, Penalosa said, closing down outdoor spaces and amenities overall doesn鈥檛 hit more affluent families who have backyards, or who live in areas that have more or .
He said COVID-19 has become a 鈥渕agnifying lens to see things that were there.鈥
鈥淲e should not have a double standard. In any case, if we had a double standard issue, would be [giving privileges] to the low income and the racialized and discriminated people who have fewer possibilities than the wealthy," he said.
The inequality in terms of access to recreational spaces playing out is nothing new, says public space expert Jay Pitter, who told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview that 鈥渋t's an extension of historical amenity inequity.鈥
鈥淪ome communities don't have good amenities at all,鈥 said Pitter, a senior fellow at the Canadian Urban Institute, who leads projects focused on public space design and policy across dozens of North American cities.
She said that in urban areas, such as public housing, the few amenities that exist stereotypically include basketball courts, rather than tennis courts or swimming pools. 鈥淭his is not just a matter of race. It's a matter of systemic inequity, which is not only rooted in racism but very much intersects with classism," she said.
Mitchell Reardon, the planning and design lead at the Vancouver-based The Happy City, an urban planning and design consultancy, told CTVNews.ca it's vital to hear from directly from people within the communities being affected by locked-up amenities or public space decisions in general.
"When looking at ways to support people in using public spaces safely right now, I suggest hiring peers and people in the neighbourhood to do so," he said. "I'd like to add that I think public agencies should provide funding to local community groups and networks, who would in turn hire people for this role."
COVID-19 POLICING HIGHER WHERE MORE COPS ALREADY ARE: EXPERT
Although there are to have the government and tennis courts, some courses have , but those facing locked-up basketball nets aren鈥檛 as lucky.
鈥淧rior to COVID police were already over-enforcing racialized, low-income communities, so naturally these communities will be disproportionately targeted during this time,鈥 Pitter said.
In areas that already see disproportionate police presence, she said, it makes sense that shackled basketball nets or closed-off soccer fields would also be common.
鈥淭he combination of discriminatory urban policy and policing has created restriction in these communities dating back before urban renewal,鈥 Pitter said, referring to government attempts to rejuvenate what could be considered run-down areas, which can lead to gentrification, removal of communal spaces and .
Enforcing bylaws by chaining up or taping off amenities is a common strategy across Canada, Pitter said.
"We must remember that for many communities, the issue isn't simply about access to recreational activities and respite,鈥 she said. 鈥淓quity-seeking communities will face greater risk of police brutality, be denied space to physically distance outside of small living quarters and lose contact with not-for-profit organizations who've transformed public spaces to deliver vital services during COVID."
