The COVID-19 health emergency was a radical unplanned experiment into new ways of dwelling and caring for each other, unveiling the fragility of our professional and non-professional caring systems and their importance in maintaining the social fabric Here we draw upon our design and research work prior to and during the COVID-19 health crisis to reflect on Barcelona’s care response to the pandemic in the context of the city’s superblocks urban strategy From such learnings, we discuss the potential benefits of designing for territorialized care supported by digital infrastructures to help maintain and strengthen care’s relational qualities and thereby increase community resilience to prepare, survive, and grow from crises
Care Up-Close and Digital: A Designers’ Outlook on the Pandemic in Barcelona