American public space, rebooted: How might 'reopening' go?

The choppy re-engagement of Americans with public life over the past week, with more to come as cries to “reopen the country” grow, means a return to public space — a shared realm that helps form the shape of American life.

Enter the “institution,” a word with multiple personalities — some truly public, some partially public, some purely commercial. All figure in this mid-virus re-engagement. All are part of the web of public trust, and all have a tone to set.

“Institution” means government buildings — post offices and courthouses and DMVs. It means town squares and public parks, churches and nursing homes and college campuses and, of course, hospitals.

It can also mean skyscraper lobbies, shopping malls, hotels, big-box stores and supermarkets — the touch points of a consumer society whose open, public operation means a society is edging toward normal.

Can you reopen a society — particularly a republic built on openness and public interaction — without its physical institutions at full capacity, without public spaces available for congregation?

Here are a few thoughts from people who think about such things:

THE ARCHITECT

“Humans are just terrified of other humans right now. They just don’t feel confident about each other. … But people need a structure. They need to be told there’s something greater.”

— Daniel Cusick, a New York architect who has worked on public spaces for three decades.

THE DISASTER-RESPONSE SCHOLAR

“It doesn’t change quickly. It’s been around forever. That’s what it means to be an institution. And so we allow these places a legitimacy that we might not with other places. … We think those are legitimate organizations. So if they’re doing it, if they’re changing, we say, `Oh, this is real.’”

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