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Positive sentiments towards urban green spaces (UGS) unequivocally increased worldwide amid COVID-19. In contrast, this paper documents that views on mobility restrictions applicable to UGS are of a contested nature. That is, while residents unambiguously report positive sentiments towards UGS, they do not share views on how to administer access to UGS—which is a matter of public policy. These contesting views reflect opposite demands that managers of UGS had to balance during the pandemic as they faced the challenge of reducing risk of spread while providing services that support physical and mental health of residents. The empirical analysis in this paper relies on views inferred through a text classification algorithm implemented on Twitter messages posted from January to October 2020, by urban residents in three Latin American countries—Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico—and Spain. The focus on Latin America is motivated by the documented lack of compliance with mobility restrictions; Spain works as a comparison point to learn differences with respect to other regions. Understanding and following in real-time the evolution of contesting views amid a pandemic is useful for managers and city planners to inform adaptation measures—e.g. communication strategies can be tailored to residents with specific views. • Amid COVID-19, social media showcased contesting views on mobility restrictions applicable to UGS. • Contesting views on regulation of access hold together with unambiguous increase in positive sentiments towards UGS. • These views reflect residents' stands with respect to how UGS should be used during a pandemic event. • Social media provides unstructured information to design and communicate adaptation measures in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in Spain during Spring 2020 resulted in a ban on most uses of public space, producing a social redefinition of not only public spaces, but also private spaces such as homes. This paper examines the discourses related to balconies that appeared at this time on Twitter (X), an intermediate microspace and hybrid between the public and private. The study uses data from tweets posted in Spain during the strictest phase of the lockdown (from 15 March to 1 May 2020). Based on a descriptive analytical approach – both quantitative and textual – the study applies text content analysis and natural language processing to identify and analyse the main topics of conversation related to the use of balconies. The study brought to light two primary and complementary results. Firstly, the balcony during the pandemic became a revitalized space in an exceptional situation, partially adapting to the most common practices characteristic of public space and thus reaffirming the importance of the existence of public spaces for citizen encounters. Secondly, the various uses of balconies received different types of attention and generated stronger or weaker interactions on social networks, demonstrating the complexity and diversity of relationships with public spaces. • The impossibility of using public spaces multiplied the importance of balconies • Using Twitter data, we studied the use of balconies in Spain in the spring of 2020 • Balconies became a public microspace through their use towards the outside • Technology did not isolate citizens but was key for the promotion of the new uses • We found important differences by use in attachments to the tweets and interactions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]