urban environment assignment -st

Its 3:15 pm, a bright sunny hot day. It’s been a while since we’ve experienced sunshine like this in Vancouver. I take a stroll to Norquay park, right outside my apartment. Before quarantine, this place was buzzing with activity. The waterparks would’ve been on by now and you would hear children yelling and the sound of bouncing basketballs. Many people come here for runs, biking, and even just a simple picnic out in the sun. But currently, the park stands in stillness without the liveliness it used to hold. There are only a few people walking and a small family in the playground. I see the colors green, the trees and grass surrounding the park. But there are dashes of yellow and red, the colors painted on the playground, and the faded brown colors of the woodchips lining the floor. I hear the few cars that pass by the playground and the chirping of a few crows. I can hear the gravel on the ground from the shuffling of my feet with every step. There’s a feeling of tranquility and calmness while walking through this park, but it’s tainted with a bit of sadness, knowing that this place used to be filled with families and friends. You can walk the paths of the park, bike them or run with a partner. You can swing on the monkey bars of the playground, slide down the slides, and jump from platform to platform. It’s a pretty hot day, with the heat draping over me like a blanket. It doesn’t smell like much, maybe like sunshine, if the sunshine had a smell. I sit down on the grass, picking at the little blades. They feel prickly but more of in a ticklish way. I see the ants trekking their way through the grass and dirt, scrambling away with others. In front of the park, are streets filled with little shops. Restaurants, bubble tea shops, a laundromat, almost anything you can think of. Their neon open signs hang sadly from the inside of the door and the street is lined with emptiness. It's strange and foreign to see them like that. It felt like just yesterday when people would hang out at the park and eat out at those restaurants. As I walk back home, despite the bright sunny day, it felt a little somber, not knowing when things would go back to the way they were.