CityLab Daily: How We'll Dine Al Fresco Without Freezing
Also today: Why fixing public transit will lift communities of color, and how to make the most out of winter this year.
Left out in the cold: Many neighborhood sidewalks may soon be lined with armies of mushroom-shaped heaters as businesses scramble to prolong outdoor dining. Coronavirus cases continue to tick up in many countries, including the U.S., as we head into the Northern Hemisphere's winter, and it’s likely that indoor seating will remain limited or even prohibited.
But artificial heating alone may not be enough to keep people dining outside. Propane heaters may be too costly for some smaller businesses, and they’re not very green. This summer, France became the latest in Europe to announce a ban on them to curb energy consumption.
The larger problem, one urban planner tells me, is that many cities just weren’t designed for spending time outdoors in the winter, forcing restaurants to either come up with ad-hoc solutions or risk going out of business. The good news is that there are some easy options, like wind protection, that don’t involve gas-guzzling or expensive technology. Other challenges, though, will demand more than ingenuity. Today on CityLab: What Al Fresco Dining May Look Like When It’s Cold