“It’s Like Living a Different Life, Going to the Moon”: Rethinking Space and Activity in the Context of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and preventive measures such as social distancing massively affected individuals’ activities in different spaces. For example, social spaces such as restaurants, parks, and movie theaters are closed. To understand how adapted practices have changed the meanings and use of different spaces in the context of the pandemic, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 individuals living alone in a Midwestern state of the USA, focusing on changes in activities and spaces where these activities used to take place. Our findings revealed that non-technological (e.g., making slight adjustments, finding alternatives) and technological (e.g., transitioning to the virtual sphere) adaptation strategies changed the relationships between space and activity while reshuffling and decoupling activities from their usual spaces during the pandemic. Based on the findings, we propose a framework illustrating different space-activity dimensions to reflect the evolved relationships between space and activity. The framework will facilitate exploring associated challenges and opportunities for potential research and design of technology for adapted activities decoupled from the physical spaces. Towards that goal, we present design implications for future socio-technical systems to support adapting space and activities in the context of COVID-19.