A road closure experiment through the Mainkai riverfront was initiated by the City of Frankfurt in 2019. In collaboration with the city, the Urban Health Games research group, partners of the LOEWE cluster IDG, studied the correlation of the road closure and the movement of people. The study showcases how the pedestrians, cyclists and other user-groups have been using this open public space in May 2020 i.e. post road closure and during the Coronavirus restrictions.

The study reports on a changed spatial distribution of people during the experiment, an increased peak hour frequency of cyclists (+45%) and pedestrians (+20%) on Mainkai street. The vulnerable groups including children cycling independently increased to 1150%, along with people with restricted mobility (+25%).

The in-depth results from the study were published and utilized for the design studio where students developed urban planning concepts that combined the future redesign of car-free urban and recreational area directly on the Mainkai riverfront with the development focusing towards an inclusive inner city of Frankfurt.

To cite: Lakshya Pandit, Gladys Vasquez Fauggier, Lanqing Gu & Martin Knöll (2020) How do people use Frankfurt Mainkai riverfront during a road closure experiment? A snapshot of public space usage during the coronavirus lockdown in May 2020, Cities & Health, DOI: 10.1080/23748834.2020.1843127  .