Tactical Urbanism

Urbanists must adopt less bureaucratic approaches so that the next generation can build and grow the economy, Andres Duany says. Hence the proliferation of “lean” codes that emphasize only the essentials of shaping community.

August 16, 2013 - Better! Cities & Towns

The temporary projects that enliven Britain's derelict and overlooked urban spaces offer a taste of the power of transformative placemaking. But they come hand in hand with increasing consolidation and homogenization in the architecture field.

August 6, 2013 - The Guardian

Michael Kimmelman looks at the wave of 'cheap, quick, temporary and D.I.Y.-style approaches' that are introducing a more successful means of creating public space than traditional trickle-down techniques.

May 31, 2013 - The New York Times

Cities and engaged citizens want to create better places; so why is it so difficult to get a project approved, built, and installed? Reforming the permitting process could unlock the creative powers of citizens and designers to improve their cities.

May 28, 2013 - Medium

A series of tactical urbanist interventions inspired by a recent talk given by Mike Lydon, Principal of the Street Plans Collaborative, have raised the ire of the powers that be in the Canadian city of Hamilton.

May 11, 2013 - Raise the Hammer

From Dallas to Denver, Las Vegas to Oklahoma City... and now tiny North Adams, Mass. The wildly successful Better Block model has primarily spawned projects in large urban areas, but small towns are starting to pay attention.

May 9, 2013 - North Adams Transcript

Chuck Wolfe summarizes a major tenet of his new book and suggests we risk ignoring the back story of urban forms and functions by failing to truly understand the traditional relationships between people and place.

May 5, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Matt Tomasulo's proposal for an urban beach on the site of a vacant lot in Raleigh has gained a following, and sparked a conversation over the future of the site, demonstrating the power of an attractive idea, a compelling rendering and the Internet.

April 30, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

This weekend, Bogota, Colombia will launch its second 100en1día (100 in 1 day) event, a blitz of urban interventions meant to multiply the impact of citywide citizen activism exponentially. Cities across the world are following their lead.

April 26, 2013 - This Big City

Realizing that overly controlled environments rarely breed the kind of innovation and culture that make cities great, Scott Doyon gets down with the funky and unpredictable.

April 3, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Are you a Place-Maker or a Place-Shaker? Check out Scott Doyon's post for a look at where to draw the line. Spoiler alert: It's all about the politics.

February 26, 2013 - PlaceShakers

At the CNU-FL statewide meeting held last week, Andrés Duany articulated his vision for how planning must adapt to the new realities of "national impoverishment" and climate change by utilizing the tools of tactical urbanism, writes Erin Chantry.

January 28, 2013 - Helm of the Public Realm

Like a lot of people, Placeshakers is kicking off the new year with a list: placemaking wishes for 2013. Read on for seven trending ideas they hope break large.

January 4, 2013 - PlaceShakers

From guerrilla wayfinding to future-tising, these are my top five, perhaps lesser known, highlights of a banner year for Tactical Urbanism.

December 30, 2012 - Mike Lydon

Historian Daniel London argues that by "excavating a 'usable past'" urbanists can find relevant, cutting edge ideas for solving the seemingly unprecedented challenges of global urbanization.

October 16, 2012 - The Global Urbanist

Alex Steffen, a "leading voice in planetary futurism," muses on what he believes could be a way to move beyond NIMBYism and incremental urban planning, to provide an antidote to fundamentally broken city governance.

October 2, 2012 - Planetary Thinking

Last Friday was annual PARK(ing) Day, and for Howard Blackson, who participated in a pilot park(let) project in San Diego, the reasons to enable context appropriate civic space was underscored again.

September 25, 2012 - PlaceShakers

One of the highlights of the global architectural calendar, the Biennale is a place to share and discuss the big ideas impacting the field. For this year's U.S. Pavilion, curators are going small by showcasing 124 projects by self-empowered citizens.

August 24, 2012 - Art Info

The wild success of a "pop-up urban intervention” transforming Toronto's Yonge Street has Christopher Hume and the city's residents excited about the ability of small moves to have a big impact.

August 21, 2012 - Toronto Star

Young activists Emaleigh and Ainé Doley take matters into their own hands to clean up their neighborhood street in run-down Germantown.

June 29, 2012 - The Philadelphia Inquirer