ENSEMBLE, Special Issue No. 1 [March 2021] Article Type: Research Article Article Ref. No.: 20100400387TF htps://doi.org/10.37948/ensemble-2021-sp1-a007 THE DISRUPTED RHYTHM OF PUBLIC SPACES UNDER THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN: A CASE STUDY FROM MUMBAI METROPOLITAN REGION Sujayita Bhatacharjee 1  Sanjukta Satar 2 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed public life world-wide. The need for maintaining physical/social distance has led to a change in the order and nature of human activities across public spaces. As a result, the usual rhythm of activities in public spaces has come to be disrupted. Taking this into consideration, the study delves into the disrupted rhythm of the urban public spaces under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequently imposed lockdown. By adopting a case study-based approach, an in-depth analysis has been carried out to comprehend the change in the daily rhythm of a local road in the wake of the pandemic and lockdown. Lefebvre’s technique of ‘rhythmanalysis’ has been applied to carry out this study, as it is highly suited in studying the fow of everyday life in a spatiotemporal context. The article traces the change in the rhythm of activities in the study area during the pandemic and lockdown in comparison to the usual rhythm of activities that existed in the area before the pandemic. The fndings of the study reveal that the pandemic has taken a toll on the study area, where the pre-existing rhythm of the public space has been overtaken by a disrupted rhythm that has given rise to chaos and confusion. Article History: Submited on 4 Oct 2020 | Accepted on 9 February 2021| Published online on 9 April 2021 Keywords: Activities, Pandemic, People, Public space, Rhythmanalysis, Urban 1.0 Introduction: Public spaces such as streets, squares, sidewalks, local markets, playgrounds, and parks are an integral part of the urban public realm. In general, the urban public spaces function as eventful entities embedded with diferent meanings that are derived from the day-to-day interactions and activities of the urbanites. Public spaces have been existent since ancient times. The Athenian Agora, the Roman Forum, the European squares, and the Indian chowks are well- known examples of public spaces that have been a part of the ancient cityscapes (Mahadevia 2015). Public spaces are the center of activities of public life. Since times immemorial people have been using them for meetings, discussions, deals, negotiations, casual chit-chats, events, and so on. It is the element of public that gives it meaning by turning it into a place of vibrancy and exuberance. Public spaces are traditionally linked to socio-economic and cultural exchanges This work is licensed under Creative Commons Atribution 4.0 International License 54 A bi-lingual peer reviewed academic journal ISSN 25820427 (Online) Special Issue No. 1 March, 2021 htp://www.ensembledrms.in 1 [Author]  [Corresponding Author] Research Scholar, Department of Geography, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, INDIA. E-mail: sujayita100@gmail.com 2 [Author] Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Mumbai,Maharashtra, INDIA. © 2021 Ensemble; The authors