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There’s No Room for Teens in the Pandemic City

With schools remote, sports canceled, and libraries closed, teenagers in many U.S. cities find themselves unwelcome in parks and public spaces. 

A young skateboarder walks though a boarded up Park Square in Boston in September.

Photographer: Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

By
Amy Crawford

This is the second of two stories about teens in the pandemic. Read the first one here. 

Since March, when school buildings across Michigan closed in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Madeleine Kauffman has been attending class online. But she still goes to the school itself: The 14-year-old Ann Arbor resident sometimes meets up with friends there. It’s a familiar place, and one where they feel safe. Plus, there isn’t really anywhere else to go.