Tactical Urbanism Comes of Age

Nate Berg reports on the recent release of the "official" guide to tactical urbanism, Tactical Urbanism 2: Short-Term Action, Long Term Change, authored by Mike Lydon.

1 minute read

March 5, 2012, 7:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Distributed by the Street Plans Collaborative, an urban planning, design and advocacy firm, the guide book [PDF], which is available for free download, seeks to publicize and give instruction on how to implement what Berg defines as "urban interventions of a sort – quick, often temporary, cheap projects that aim to make a small part of a city more lively or enjoyable."

Examples of tactics discussed by the guide include intersection repair, ad-busting and depaving.

Although tactical urbanist projects are often intended as temporary interventions, according to Berg, the aim of such projects is to initiate long-term change. "The goal is not to simply do a cool project that will get cleaned up by the city or thrown away, but to make something – even something temporary – that will change how a place works and is perceived. And once that change has been made, to figure out how it can be made again or made permanent."

Friday, March 2, 2012 in The Atlantic Cities

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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