Tactical Urbanism

Activists creating a DIY blockade in a snowy Minneapolis intersection during 2025-2026 ICE occupation.

Minneapolis Activists Use DIY Traffic Circles to Identify, Slow ICE

Residents are using the pop-up roundabouts to slow traffic and make their presence known on Minneapolis streets.

February 15, 2026 - MinnPost

Dad and small kids ride bikes on colorful bike lane next to bus lane protected with low buffers in Portland, Oregio.

Portland Launches Tool for DIY Community Road Safety Interventions

A set of resources offers safety data and guidance for putting low-cost, quick-build interventions into action.

September 11, 2025 - Strong Towns

Orange and white plastic bollards delineating bike lane.

Indianapolis Encourages Tactical Urbanism With Lending Library, Grant Program

Residents can apply to receive assistance with traffic calming projects that can provide valuable data and lead to permanent changes.

July 27, 2025 - Mirror Indy

People walking in crowded square in Kyiv, Ukraine with ferris wheel and old buildings.

In Praise of Analog Cities: Futureproofing in a Time of Crisis

I didn’t need a pandemic or a war to teach me that smart cities weren’t the future — but it sure drove the message home.

July 21, 2025 - Mikael Colville-Andersen

Calvary Street bridge over freeway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path

Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

April 20, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Chalkboard sign at front of a community garden with hours and information.

Community-Led Initiatives To Beautify and Reclaim Neglected Areas

Explore successful community-led initiatives that revitalize neglected urban spaces, fostering beauty and reclaiming areas for public benefit and enjoyment.

March 12, 2025 - Devin Partida

Center-running protected bike lane on Valencia Street in San Francisco, California.

How San Francisco’s ‘People Protected Bike Lanes’ are Moving the Needle on Road Safety

A local bike safety protest has become a global phenomenon.

January 29, 2025 - Streetsblog San Francisco

Pedestrian plaza construction site with orange cones and excavator in Jersey City, New Jersey.

How Jersey City Dramatically Improved Its Public Realm

The city’s new Department of Infrastructure consolidates the management of public amenities and has guided the creation of new bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, and parks.

September 15, 2024 - CNU Public Square

A white crosswalk painted by Crosswalk Collective LA in Los Angeles, California.

Guerilla Urbanism Spurs Action From Cities

Rather than take a hostile approach to DIY urbanism, some cities are using guerilla efforts as an opportunity to understand critical infrastructure gaps.

May 24, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Close-up of man painting white and yellow crosswalk on asphalt.

Guerilla Urbanism: Small Interventions, Big Impact

Citizen-led projects can lead to broader changes — if cities will listen.

March 24, 2024 - Congress For New Urbanism

Close-up of pedestrian crossing button at a crosswalk in Los Angeles

Tactical Urbanism Makes Strides in L.A.

A DIY urbanism group in Los Angeles has successfully prompted the city to install permanent crosswalks at dangerous intersections, despite the city’s insistence that the group’s do-it-yourself work is illegal.

February 14, 2023 - LAist

Machine spraying white crosswalk lines on street

How Tactical Urbanism Succeeds Where Bureaucracy Fails

Making the case for do-it-yourself infrastructure.

December 5, 2022 - Bloomberg CityLab

Covered outdoor dining patio on street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Opinion: Support Citizen-Led Public Space Projects

A public space advocate outlines how Philadelphia’s city leaders could support the parklets, plazas, and other public space conversions that proliferated during the pandemic.

September 26, 2022 - WHYY

An intersection is adorned with paint depicting the Italian flag in St. Louis.

St. Louis Had Enough of the Federal Government’s Crosswalk Paint Policy

St. Louis is not the only city to decide that the Federal Highway Administration’s policies against brightly painted crosswalks. The evidence is on the side of the resistance.

September 6, 2022 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Pop-Up Park

What Is Tactical Urbanism?

Tactical urbanism, one of the most common buzzwords in planning over the past decade, describes a variety of low-cost, incremental public realm design interventions.

June 16, 2022 - James Brasuell

Higgins Avenue in downtown Missoula, Montana

Tactical Urbanism Takes Hold in Missoula

Community organizations are taking action to transform the city and pave the way for permanent infrastructure improvements.

April 6, 2022 - Missoula Current

Google Maps street view of intersection of Romaine and Serrano in Los Angeles, California

DIY Crosswalks Appear in Hollywood

A group claiming the city of Los Angeles fails to protect pedestrians is taking action on their own, painting a set of crosswalks at a busy residential intersection.

April 4, 2022 - NPR

Atlanta Scooter

Atlanta Urges Tactical Urbanism To Speed Up Vision Zero Goals

The city's department of transportation has released a guide to help community groups implement low-cost 'tactical urbanism' projects.

March 11, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

Brooklyn, New York City

Tactical Urbanism Gurus Rethink Equity

Mike Lydon and Tony Garcia wrote the book on Tactical Urbanism, and as leading consultants of the practice in cities around the country, they have faced criticism in recent weeks and months for a lack of attention to matters of equity.

July 7, 2020 - Streetsblog USA

Dallas

Coronavirus Presents Opportunities for Resilience in Dallas

Dallasites have a history of responding to times of crisis with plans for reinvention. What could the city do to improve public life after the coronavirus pandemic?

May 1, 2020 - The Dallas Morning News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.