City Road Podcast

Pop-up, Guerrilla, DIY or Tactical Urbanism; whatever the name, temporary urban interventions are increasingly popular in contemporary cities.   From community gardens and pop-up cinemas to outdoor art installations and mobile libraries, pop-up urbanism can take many forms. Much of the discussion about pop-up urbanism is celebratory in tone, highlighting the ways in which these transient practices are putting on display alternative lifestyles, reoccupying urban space with new uses, or reinventing daily life from the bottom up. Many claim that pop-up urbanism is a political activity that can be undertaken in pursuit of a more just or sustainable city. Various levels of government are latching on to the idea of pop-up urbanism, and even borrowing some of the ideas that are associated with the more radical notion of tactical urbanism as they design and plan the city. Some governments even think that pop-up urbanism might be a quick, and cheap, solution to fostering participatory, bottom-up city-making. And the