In Search of Context in ‘Alfresco Twickenham’

During the relative calm of July in the United Kingdom, when the COVID curve is flattened (for now), it is time to explore. I discussed Church Street in Twickenham last month as a stage for the mythical “Equity Street in Pandemica.” Today I returned to examine how the street has evolved as an alfresco icon, with Sunday dining underway on a cloudy day.

Church Street is closed for weekend street fairs on a semi-regular basis, but the more pervasive table and chair motif is new, and appears more spontaneous than customary. “Customary,” as well as the tongue-in-cheek captions below, are purposefully phrased, probing at questions of context (such as the overlay of a passeggiata on Twickenham) that will be discussed much more in-depth in Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character upon release.

Tactical urbanists do not always discuss whether the shoe fits, but only whether the shoe is needed. That may be enough for a pandemic in search of solutions. Or to endure, a unity of cultural tradition with imported solutions may become an outright necessity.