A very Welsh Lockdown in Cardiff: Community is strength
By: Daisy Yeung Lok To
Tags: Covid 19, Urbanism, Community, Lockdown, Community Engagement

Everyday people, including myself, have been “locked down” looking at the statistical figure changes of the COVID-19. Many, like myself, have been enthralled with the growing numbers, we forget that the people around us are affected by this isolating situation every day. Cardiff showcased city dweller’s resilience and kindness with the inspirational responses amidst the on-going social distancing policy. A wave of self-help sharing culture has been cultivated against this pandemic, and it can be said that the power of the community now is stronger than ever before.

Empty street in the City Centre of Cardiff. (Taken by the author)

Rise to a self-help sharing culture

The official lockdown started on March 23, and since then the government’s advice has been to “Stay at Home”. By May 11th, the advice has changed to “Stay local”, which means Welsh people are allowed to commute within 5 miles to limit the potential spread of the virus between communities[1]. The community decided to take extra steps, apart from limiting unnecessary travel, they shop locally and grow locally, and take care of the local people. While street activities were scarce, the online community has become more active where people started to discuss what they could do. This included reaching out to the vulnerable groups, sending out newsletters, sparing out marks, and helping to deliver groceries. People make use of Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups to communicate ideas, recruit volunteers, and cast votes on self-initiated actions. It’s such a refreshing sight to see a tight-knit community working together to look out for one another.

I learned about lockdown libraries from one of the Cardiff Facebook pages. As public libraries were closed due to the pandemic, residents across neighbourhoods transformed the old telephone boxes into colourful little libraries. Someone set it up, others chipped in books and toys, families and kids borrowed and returned. The residents love the idea and the tiny libraries quickly spread from one neighbourhood to another.

An old telephone box has turned into a lockdown library in Gabalfa, Cardiff. (Taken by author)

Books and toys donated by anonymous residents. (Taken by author)

Meanwhile, food security is threatened due to the disrupted global food supply chains. To secure food supply in the long run, local organisations encouraged residents to grow their own food at home by giving away free seeds and plants. It is not an immediate remedy but more of an inspirational experiment for building a more resilient food supply system locally. It also keeps people busy during the lockdown. Nearly 14,000 plants, seeds and growing kits were distributed to families in Cardiff during the lockdown as part of the Sustainable Food City project[2]. There are also online classes to teach people how to grow plants. The small creation has brought little joy to the repeated ordinary days and envisioned a more sustainable way of living.

A volunteer was giving away free plants at her front door to encourage neighbourhoods to grow their own food. Source: WalesOnline (Image by Matthew Horwood)

Local businesses come up with creative solutions

While countries across Europe have been lifting their lockdown ruling, Wales seems to fall behind. Non-essential retail remains closed and restaurants are only allowed to do delivery or takeaway. We can imagine local businesses are hugely affected even with financial aids from the government. Nonetheless, they are showing their resilience to adapt to the new normal. While some businesses have shifted to online, some small grocery shops were closed and donated their stock like food and toiletries to charity for food preparation for the needy. After three months of struggling, local businesses are slowly preparing for their re-opening. Shops are now highlighting social distancing reminders or offer “order and collect” services all in the hopes of crowd control. Even arcades with narrow corridors introduced a one-way system to better facilitate social distancing, and some coffee shops were thinking of installing traffic lights for narrow staircases[3]. Creativity helps people quickly adapt to the “new normal”. Local businesses work creatively and accordingly with the government’s advice. As important as cooperation with customers. To win the fight against COVID-19, it will require the combined effort of all the members of the community.

Implication on bottom-up urban planning

The lockdown has proven that we can safeguard our own neighbourhood. The above-mentioned urban interventions that are locally specific and truly participatory. This sheds some light on the community-led planning in Wales.

In England. the Localism Act 2011 allows local communities to draw their own neighbourhood plans. About 700 plans have been adopted since then. While there is no equivalent system in Wales, the Welsh government is moving towards a place-making approach. It emphasises the delivery of a sustainable place to support the well-being of people. Moving beyond conventional public participation events, it encourages stakeholders to impart into the design process at an early stage and work in a collaborative manner. One of the successes of community-led planning approach lies in the motivation and willingness of residents because local people have the best knowledge of their problems and needs. Cardiff has demonstrated its potentials in the response of the pandemic in the form of tactical urban interventions. It refers to a citizen-led approach to neighbourhood building using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions to catalyse long-term changes. Building lockdown libraries and creating the one-way walking system are a few of the examples.

On the other hand, online platforms facilitate efficient communication among the community. Online engagement could be applied in the planning process in the post-quarantine world. One of the advantages is a lot more audiences can be reached through social media or online surveys. Also, anonymity allows people to express themselves freely, to lead the discussion and create dialogues between experts or officials.

These all started when people put down self-interest and look out for each other. The more we trust one another, the more we can maximise utility. Charles Montgomery[4] reminded us that “the city is ultimately a shared project, a place where we can fashion a common good that we simply cannot build alone.” The pandemic is a valuable chance to rethink our way of living, rebuild our relationships with other residents and ultimately re-make our cities in a more sustainable and resilient way.

A poster reminds people community is strength during the lockdown. (Taken by author)

[1] Welsh Government. 2020. Coronavirus regulations: frequently asked questions. Available at https://gov.wales/staying-local-social-distancing [Accessed on 10 June 2020]

[2] Howard, B. 2020. Thousands of families in Cardiff grow food at home during lockdown. WalesOnline. 7 June. Available at https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/gallery/cardiff-lockdown-sustainable-food-city-18375326 [Accessed on 12 June 2020]

[3] Arkless, J. 2020. Coronavirus: Cardiff shopping arcades plan social distancing measures. BBC News. 11 June. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52941575 [Accessed on 12 June 2020]

[4] Montgomery, C. 2013. Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.