Video Presentations: University of Chicago Campus: Open Space Response to COVID-19

Katie Peck
Associate Director for Campus Environment
The University of Chicago,

Located in Hyde Park on Chicago’s south side, the University of Chicago campus covers 217 acres and includes 114 buildings which host and support multiple academic programs, research, arts, housing, athletics and culture. The campus holds the rare distinction of being classified as a botanic garden and is embedded in the urban habitat of the neighborhood. A series of connected landscapes that are diverse in scale, type, form and use help to knit the campus together and provide a range of space types for the University and surrounding community to enjoy.

The University has established an integrated set of goals to improve the quality of life and learning on campus which involve fulfilling basic needs such as safety and access as well as finding creative ways to promote formal and informal conversation and gathering spaces for students, faculty, staff and the community. The campus creates an environment that is functional, sustainable, biodiverse, safe, engaging and appealing. The use of our outdoor spaces on campus have become even more important amidst COVID-19. With outdoor spaces being safer for gatherings than most indoor environments, the University has worked to increase and promote the use of these spaces by multiple means, which include the addition of furnishings that encourage people to gather at safe distances for study, collaboration, dining and simply social gathering. Multiple tents have also been added to campus to extend the use of outdoor spaces during inclement weather. The fact that the University had this network of linked diverse open spaces allowed it to respond meaningfully and quickly to the unique needs of outdoor space during COVID-19