Abstract
Behind every successful Tactical Urbanism project there is a compelling genesis story, a tale often born from frustration that leads to a creative response addressing some known challenge in the built environment. In this chapter, we share five such stories elucidating how short-term tactics aimed at disrupting the status quo generated long-term transformation in the physical environment, policy, or both. They are:
Co-creators fill the ever increasing gap between official action and official resources with their efforts and their presence can be the difference between a city that is “loved” and a city that is merely lived in.
— PETER KAGEYAMA
For the Love of Cities 1
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
Peter Kageyama, For the Love of Cities (St. Petersburg, FL: Creative Cities Productions, 2011), 9.
- 2.
Ibid., 7–8.
- 3.
Jan C. Semenza, “The Intersection of Urban Planning, Art, and Public Health: The Sunnyside Piazza,” American Public Health Association 93, no. 9 (2003): 1439–1441, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447989/.
- 4.
Lakeman interview, January 21, 2014, by Mike Lydon.
- 5.
Ibid.
- 6.
Jhon, interview with Mark Lakeman, Many Mouths One Stomach, http://www.manymouths.org/2009/08/turning-space-into-place-portlands-city-repair-project/.
- 7.
“Mark Lakeman,” in Social Environmental Architects: “Designing the Future” Art Exhibit, http://socialenvironmentalarchitects.wordpress.com/mark-lakeman/ (accessed 12/30/2013).
- 8.
Ibid.
- 9.
Lakeman interview, January 21, 2014, by Mike Lydon.
- 10.
- 11.
Stuart Cowan, Mark Lakeman, Jenny Leis, Daniel Lerch, and Jan C. Semenza, The City Repair Project, http://www.inthefield.info/city_repair.pdf (accessed 12/31/2013).
- 12.
Ibid.
- 13.
- 14.
http://www.inthefield.info/city_repair.pdf (accessed 12/31/2013).
- 15.
Lerch interview, December 19, 2013, by Mike Lydon.
- 16.
Alyse Nelson, “Coloring Inside the Lanes,” Sightline Daily: News & Views for a Sustainable Northwest, November 28, 2011, http://daily.sightline.org/2011/11/28/coloring-inside-the-lanes/(accessed 1/1/2014).
- 17.
Cornelius Swart, “Village Building Convergence Creates Murals, Relationships in North Portland,” Oregon Live, May 31, 2012, http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/05/village_building_convergence_c.html.
- 18.
Alyse Nelson and Tim Shuck, “City Repair Project Case Study,” http://courses.washington.edu/activism/cityrepair.htm (accessed 12/31/2013).
- 19.
“Activities and Results,” Depave, http://depave.org/about/results/ (accessed 1/1/2013).
- 20.
Jan C. Semenza, “The Intersection of Urban Planning, Art, and Public Health: The Sunnyside Piazza,” American Journal of Public Health 93 (2003): 1439–1441, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447989/ (accessed 1/1/2014).
- 21.
a. “The National Intersection Safety Problem,” Federal Highway Administration, http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/resources/fhwasa10005/brief_2.cfm.
- 22.
b. Ryan McGreal, “Invigorating Tactical Urbanism Talk Inspires Action,” Raise the Hammer, May 8, 2013, https://raisethehammer.org/article/1849invigorating_tactical_urbanism_talk_inspires_action.
- 23.
- 24.
d. Ryan McGreal, “Zebrapalooza,” Raise the Hammer August 19, 2013, http://raisethehammer.org/article/1933/zebrapalooza.
- 25.
e. Graham McNally, “City Embraces Tactical Urbanism,” Raise the Hammer, September 24, 2013, http://www.raisethehammer.org/article/1960/city_embraces_tactical_urbanism.
- 26.
Sandra A. Ham, Caroline A. Macera, and Corina Lindley, “Trends in Walking for Transportation in the United States, 1995 and 2001,” Preventing Chronic Disease 4, no. 2 (2005), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1435711/.
- 27.
Jeff Speck, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (New York: North Point Press, 2012), 4.
- 28.
Patrick C. Doherty and Christopher B. Leinberger, “The Next Real Estate Boom,” Brookings, November 2010, http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2010/11/real-estate-leinberger.
- 29.
Tomasulo interview, February 12, 2014, by Mike Lydon. All quotes from Tomasulo in this chapter are from this interview.
- 30.
Ibid.
- 31.
Emily Badger, “Guerrilla Wayfinding in Raleigh,” City Lab, February 6, 2012, http://www.citylab.com/tech/2012/02/guerilla-wayfinding-raleigh/1139/.
- 32.
Emily Badger, “Raleigh’s Guerrilla Wayfinding Signs Deemed Illegal,” City Lab, February 27, 2012, http://www.citylab.com/tech/2012/02/raleighs-guerrilla-wayfinding-signs-deemed-illegal/1341/.
- 33.
Larchlion, “The Deep Ellum Better Block,” Walkable DFW: Restoring a City to Walkability, November 1, 2010, http://www.carfreeinbigd.com/2010/11/deep-ellum-better-block.html.
- 34.
Jason Roberts interview, August 7, 2013, by Mike Lydon.
- 35.
Jason Roberts, “The Better Block Project,” Bike Friendly Oak Cliff blog, March 26, 2010, http://bikefriendlyoc.org/2010/03/26/the-better-block-project/.
- 36.
Robert Wilonsky, “Jason Roberts and the Better Block’ers Dare You to Build a Better Ross Avenue in Three Days,” Dallas Observer blogs, May 4, 2011, http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/05/jason_roberts_and_the_better_b.php.
- 37.
Jason Roberts interview, August 7, 2013, by Mike Lydon.
- 38.
Ibid.
- 39.
“Living Plaza,” http://www.dallascityhall.com/citydesign_studio/LivingPlaza.html.
- 40.
Lisa Gray, “Gray: Building a Better Block,” Houston Chronicle, June 28, 2010, http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Gray-Building-a-better-block-1711370.php.
- 41.
“TEDxOU: Jason Roberts: How to Build a Better Block,” delivered January 2012, Norman, Oklahoma, uploaded February 21, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntwqVDzdqAU.
- 42.
Angie Schmitt, “Q&A with Jason Roberts, the Brains Behind ‘Better Blocks,’” Streetsblog USA, May 31, 2013, http://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/05/31/qa-with-jason-roberts-the-visionary-behind-the-better-block/.
- 43.
“Better Block Drive Started,” Atlanta Daily World, May 9, 1942; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Atlanta Daily World (1931–2003).
- 44.
“Operation Better Block Opens Day Care Center,” New York Amsterdam News, December 12, 1970, http://ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/226650847?accountid=11620.
- 45.
“Upland in ‘Operation Better Block’ Drive,” New Pittsburgh Courier (1966–1981), City Edition, March 20, 1971, p. 6.
- 46.
a. Jonathan Devin, “Broad Ambitions,” Memphis Daily News, http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/ArticleEmail.aspx?id=54312.
- 47.
The Trust for Public Land, “The Economic Benefits and Fiscal Impact of Parks and Open Space in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York,” 2010, http://cloud.tpl.org/pubs/ccpe--nassau-county-park-benefits.pdf.
- 48.
“Parks for People: Miami,” The Trust for Public Land, https://www.tpl.org/our-work/parks-for-people/parks-people-miami.
- 49.
“Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis II: Parking Costs,” Victoria Transport Policy Institute, http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0504.pdf.
- 50.
UCLA Toolkit, “Reclaiming the Right-of-Way: A Toolkit for Creating and Implementing Parklets,” UCLA Complete Streets Initiative, September 2012, Luskin School of Public Affairs.
- 51.
Pavement to Parks, “San Francisco Parklet Manual,” San Francisco Planning Department, February 2013, http://sfpavementtoparks.sfplanning.org/docs/SF_P2P_Parklet_Manual_1.0_FULL.pdf.
- 52.
“Parking Meter Party!” tlchamilton blog, July 9, 2001, http://tlchamilton.wordpress.com/2001/07/09/parking-meter-party/.
- 53.
“Portfolio: Park(ing),” Rebar, November 16, 2005, http://rebargroup.org/parking/.
- 54.
“About Park(ing) Day,” Park(ing) Day, Rebar Group, http://parkingday.org/about-parking-day/.
- 55.
Blaine Merker, 2013.
- 56.
“Portfolio: Park(ing),” Rebar, http://rebargroup.org/parking/.
- 57.
a. UCLA Toolkit, “Reclaiming the Right-of-Way: A Toolkit for Creating and Implementing Parklets,” UCLA Complete Streets Initiative, September 2012, Luskin School of Public Affairs.
- 58.
b. Ibid.
- 59.
c. Ibid.
- 60.
d. Ibid.
- 61.
e. “Parkmobiles,” Conger Moss Buillard: Landscape Architecture, http://www.cmgsite.com/projects/parkmobiles/.
- 62.
f. Mariko Mura Davidson, “Tactical Urbanism, Public Policy Reform, and ‘Innovation Spotting’ by Government: From Park(ing) Day to San Francisco’s Parklet Program,” Bachelor’s thesis, Saint Mary’s College of California, 2004, http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/81628/859158960.pdf?sequence=1. Robin Abad Ocubillo, “Experimenting with the Margin: Parklets and Plazas as Catalysts in Community and Government,” Thesis, USC School of Architecture, University of Southern California, 2012, http://issuu.com/robin.abad/docs/experimentingwiththemargin_abadocubillo2012; Peter Cavagnaro, “Q & A: Bonnie Ora Sherk and the Performance of Being,” Nabeel Hamdi, Small Change: About the Art of Practice and the Limits of Planning in Cities (London: Earthscan); Jeffrey Hou, Insurgent Public Space: DIY Urbanism and the Remaking of Contemporary Cities (Florence, KY: Routledge, 2010); Parklet Impact Study: The Influence of Parklets on Pedestrian Traffic, Behavior, and Perception in San Francisco, April–August, 2011, San Francisco Great Streets Project (2011), San Francisco, CA.
- 63.
Lisa Taddeo, “Janette Sadik-Khan: Urban Reengineer,” Esquire, http://www.esquire.com/features/brightest-2010/janette-sadik-khan-1210.
- 64.
“New York City Streets Renaissance,” Project for Public Spaces, http://www.pps.org/projects/new-york-city-streets-renaissance/.
- 65.
Ibid.
- 66.
Jennifer 8. Lee, “Sturdier Furniture Replaces Times Square Lawn Chairs,” The New York Times blog, August 17, 2009, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/sturdier-furniture-replaces-times-square-lawn-chairs/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0.
- 67.
All pilot project results sourced from “Pedestrians: Broadway,” New York City DOT, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/broadway.shtml.
- 68.
“Mayor Bloomberg, Transportation Commissioner Sadik-Khan and Design and Construction Commissioner Burney Cut Ribbon on First Phase of Permanent Times Square Reconstruction,” Official Website of the City of New York, December 23, 2013, http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/432-13/mayor-bloomberg-transportation-commissioner-sadik-khan-design-construction-commissioner/#/0.
- 69.
Ibid.
- 70.
Roberto Brambilla and Gianna Longo, For Pedestrians Only: Planning, Design, and Management of Traffic-Free Zones (New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1977), 8.
- 71.
Dorina Pojani, “American Downtown Pedestrian “Malls”: Rise, Fall, and Rebirth,” Territorio 173–190, http://www.academia.edu/2098773/American_downtown_pedestrian_malls_rise_fall_and_rebirth.
- 72.
“Privately Owned Public Space,” New York City Planning: Department of City Planning, City of New York, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/pops/pops.shtml.
- 73.
William Whyte, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (New York: Project for Public Spaces, Inc, 2001), http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/pops/pops.shtml.
- 74.
All Wade quotes and information sourced from an interview in the spring of 2014.
- 75.
New York City DOT, “Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets,” http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2012-10-measuring-the-street.pdf.
- 76.
Stephen Miller, “Ped Plazas in Low-Income Neighborhoods Get $800,000 Boost from Chase,” Streets Blog NYC, November 26, 2013, http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/11/26/800000-from-chase-to-help-maintain-up-to-20-plazas-over-two-years/.
- 77.
Pavement to Parks, San Francisco Planning Department, http://pavementtoparks.sfplanning.org/.
- 78.
a. Noah Kazis, “Jackson Heights Embraces 78th Street Play Street and Makes It Permanent,” Streetsblog NYC, July 5, 2012, http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/07/05/jackson-heights-embraces-78th-street-play-street-makes-it-a-permanent-plaza/.
- 79.
b. Ibid.
- 80.
c. Ben Fried, “Eyes on the Street: 78th Street, Jackson Heights, 8:15 PM,” Streetsblog NYC, August 6, 2010, http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/08/06/eyes-on-the-street-78th-street-jackson-heights-815-pm/.
- 81.
d. “Jackson Heights 78th Street Play Street 2012,” Ioby.org, https://ioby.org/project-jackson-heights-78th-street-play-street-2012.
- 82.
e. Kazis, “Jackson Heights Embraces 78th Street Play Street.”
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 The Streets Plans Collaborative, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lydon, M., Garcia, A. (2015). Of Cities and Citizens: Five Tactical Urbanism Stories. In: Tactical Urbanism. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-567-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-567-0_4
Publisher Name: Island Press, Washington, DC
Print ISBN: 978-1-59726-451-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-61091-567-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)