Ice skating is the Dutch \u2018national sport\u2019 and skating on natural ice, a Dutch obsession. Weather-apps are watched obsessively, anticipation building as frost turns to ice, and the minute temperatures stay below zero, ice skate-fever grips the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Urban bodies of water like canals, ponds, and lakes, are transformed into frozen public spaces, attracting not only skaters but also spectators. Thus public space becomes a focal point for urban play, and bumps, bruises and breaks are acceptable trade-offs for the fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate change has meant a rarity of weather needed to deep-freeze the Dutch waterways. So, the mid-lockdown conditions of February 2021 led to an excited \u2018Ice-phoria\u2019. People of all types defied rules and went outside, together yet apart, to enjoy the ice. Lockdown routines were broken to catch a breath of fresh air and, at the same time, have \u2018safe\u2019 social interactions with people outside their typical bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public space as an antidote, a cure, if only momentary, not only physically, but mentally too.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ice skating is the Dutch \u2018national sport\u2019 and skating on natural ice, a Dutch obsession. Weather-apps are watched obsessively, anticipation building as frost turns to ice, and the minute temperatures stay below zero, ice skate-fever grips the nation. Urban bodies of water like canals, ponds, and lakes, are transformed into frozen public spaces, attracting not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,57,54],"tags":[7,30,19],"class_list":["post-438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corona-files","category-urban-sports","category-rotterdam","tag-corona","tag-covid-19","tag-rotterdam"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_1566-kopie.jpg?fit=1181%2C1575&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":115,"url":"https:\/\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/2020\/06\/16\/circles-in-the-grass\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":0},"title":"Social Distancing Strategies","author":"Floorvand","date":"16 June 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Like many other cities Rotterdam has adopted the circle strategy to 'nudge' people into keeping an appropriate coronaproof distance in public parks. The circles were first applied in Domino Park in Brooklyn N.Y. and soon went viral, mutating along the way, with variations in size, spacing and pattern. 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Streets like these are the spine of public space, the key support for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Corona Files"","block_context":{"text":"Corona Files","link":"https:\/\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/category\/corona-files\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ghost_Town.jpg?fit=871%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ghost_Town.jpg?fit=871%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ghost_Town.jpg?fit=871%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ghost_Town.jpg?fit=871%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/2020\/07\/03\/public-space-as-an-antidote\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":3},"title":"Public Space as an Antidote","author":"Floorvand","date":"3 July 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As the city awakens from its imposed hibernation, this seems a good moment to cast a first glance on public space from a (mental) health perspective; urban parks as an anti-dote. 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We travel, meet, eat, party, play, demonstrate, even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/38-SIGNS-scaled.jpg?fit=1038%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/38-SIGNS-scaled.jpg?fit=1038%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/38-SIGNS-scaled.jpg?fit=1038%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/38-SIGNS-scaled.jpg?fit=1038%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147,"url":"https:\/\/publicspacedetective.com\/cms\/2020\/06\/24\/sports-in-times-of-corona\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":5},"title":"Welcome to the Downtown Athletic Club","author":"Floorvand","date":"24 June 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"With sports facilities closed due to Corona, clubs are forced to give group trainings outside. Whether you exercise to feel better or to improve your body, within the confined space of a sports facility you are among like-minded people, initiates. 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