Temporary Urbanism

In the age of food trucks, pop-up stores, and the Burning Man city, is it time to rethink the notion of "temporary" architecture?

Even a real estate market as strong as Washington, DC has vacant land and storefronts. Regulatory burdens and business customs make finding temporary tenants difficult, even though temporary uses can enliven dead spaces and spark entrepreneurship.

Recent protests throughout Spain and Europe over unemployment and governmental representation offer a unique look at how protests use and create public space and urbanity.

Small-scale, temporary interventions in urban space have brought the concept of "pop-up" projects into the civic space of cities.

As popularity of "temporary urbanism" initiatives rises, there are increasingly efforts to regulate these sites. Jonna McKone of TheCityFix analyzes the trend.

That's according to the National Vacant Properties Campaign. But there is a glimmer of hope as cases of 'temporary urbanism' and 'pop-up stores' fill the void.

Empty lots are scattered throughout San Francisco, sites of would-be towers that have been temporarily put off by the building bust. Instead of letting these lots sit empty until construction, some are finding ways to utilize them in the meantime.