Equity Amidst A Pandemic

Nashville’s Parks and Recreation Department makes changes for safety and equity as they adapt to the pandemic

Then Nashville Metro Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook cover photo.

The pandemic created an unprecedented impetus for change across the world, and much of that change was felt at the local level, reaching into the lives of every individual.

Fortunately, numerous municipalities have stepped up and adapted to a chaotic new normal. The folks at Nashville’s Parks and Recreation Department have worked hard in recent months, to keep people safe and to not waste a crisis.

“I think this pandemic has created a new normal and a new protocol for how we do business, in what is clearly now our new reality,” says Monique Odom, the department’s director.

When the pandemic hit, Odom and her team saw an opportunity to increase their presence on social media to communicate with their patrons and offer virtual programs to replace the in-person events lost to COVID-19.

“The biggest change, in addition to our increased presence online, has been that people have rediscovered and learned the importance of a good park system,” Odom says. “Our greenways, trails, and open spaces are seeing unprecedented usage.”

But beyond the Zoom calls with colleagues, interdepartmental collaborations with peer departments and community agencies, and every other protocol adjustment brought on COVID-19, Odom and her team have looked for ways to improve how they examine equity in their community.

“We’re dealing with two viruses: one bacterial, one based in equity—both deadly,” Odom says. “COVID-19 will forever impact the way we live—from cleaning and sterilizing our facilities to being more mindful of how we prevent community spread. Issues of equity are causing all of us to become mindful of our staffing patterns, our programming, our strategies to ensure inclusiveness, and the manner and vehicles we use to communicate.”