Open Norfolk
REOPENING THE CITY THROUGH SAFE, FLEXIBLE PUBLIC SPACE
As Norfolk began reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City needed a way to support businesses, reconnect residents, and rebuild confidence in public life while indoor activity remained limited. Yard & Co., Work Program Architects, and Team Better Block helped create OpenNorfolk, a rapid-response strategy that used streets, sidewalks, parking lots, vacant land, and neighborhood spaces as tools for recovery. The work included reopening strategies, policy recommendations, outdoor dining and retail concepts, and Neighborhood Spots: pop-up public parks offering safe, healthy, fun, and educational events, services, and neighborhood-serving retail. What began as an emergency response became a citywide framework for flexible public space, neighborhood activation, and long-term resilience.
Services
Branding | Activation | Operation
Timeframe
2020
Client
City of Norfolk
Location
Norfolk, Virginia
PROBLEM
How can Norfolk reopen safely while helping businesses survive and residents reconnect?
SOLUTION
Turn streets, sidewalks, vacant land, and neighborhood spaces into flexible places for safe commerce, gathering, services, and recreation.
ACTION
A reopening plan, policy toolkit, and Neighborhood Spots program that helped businesses, neighborhoods, and public spaces adapt during the pandemic.
