Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action for Long-term Change

by Mike Lydon, Anthony Garcia, Andrés Duany (Foreword)

In the twenty-first century, cities worldwide must respond to a growing and diverse population, ever-shifting economic conditions, new technologies, and a changing climate. Short-term, community-based projects—from pop-up parks to open streets initiatives—have become a powerful and adaptable new tool of urban activists, planners, and policy-makers seeking to drive lasting improvements in their cities and beyond. These quick, often low-cost, and creative projects are the essence of the Tactical Urbanism movement. Whether creating vibrant plazas seemingly overnight or re-imagining parking spaces as neighborhood gathering places, they offer a way to gain public and government support for investing in permanent projects, inspiring residents and civic leaders to experience and shape urban spaces in a new way.
 
Tactical Urbanism , written by Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia, two founders of the movement, promises to be the foundational guide for urban transformation. The authors begin with an in-depth history of the Tactical Urbanism movement and its place among other social, political, and urban planning trends. A detailed set of case studies, from guerilla wayfinding signs in Raleigh, to pavement transformed into parks in San Francisco, to a street art campaign leading to a new streetcar line in El Paso, demonstrate the breadth and scalability of tactical urbanism interventions. Finally, the book provides a detailed toolkit for conceiving, planning, and carrying out projects, including how to adapt them based on local needs and challenges.
 
Tactical Urbanism will inspire and empower a new generation of engaged citizens, urban designers, land use planners, architects, and policymakers to become key actors in the transformation of their communities.

Genres: Urban Planning, Urbanism, Nonfiction, Cities, Urban, Urban Design, Design

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2014

Reviews

[Ly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly accessible and very comprehensive guide to whoever is interested in actually knowing 'tactical urbanism' beyond mural painting and putting plastic chairs in parking lots.
The book breaks down all the jargons, clearly outlines the purpose / intent / methods and expected successes and failures when one embarks on a tactical urbanism project. From my interpretation, it also attempts to address the problem of scalability, which is probably the most pertinent criticism against tactical urbanism, by honestly claiming that without being sanctioned and working with the authorities / investors / people with capital, it is very difficult to scale or sustain a tactical project. Hence, while the book is a champion of guerilla urbanism, it by no means sugarcoats the limited impact of these citizen-led tactics.

It is also very well-researched. All the quotes at the start of the chapters are very well-chosen, enjoyed them thoroughly.

If anything, the examples and guides are very american-centric, would love to see an expanded version of this book that gives more credits to more dynamic cities in other parts of the world, especially in what normally considered the "developing world", as i'm quite sure, tactical urbanism is no less, and most probably more, prevalent there.

[Du · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. A good overview of how to try out changes and the history of many successful attempts. I think the draw back to this book is that many of the ideas are just as discoverable online. There is nothing academic or unique to the ideas in a book form. I liked the overall thrust of it and the photos are great, so I am glad to have it.

One interesting note, is the idea of the roll that Sears kit homes had in promoting tactical urbanism.

[Bill H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just because the authors write "Tactical Urbanism" 3-5+ times per page, doesn't mean you're getting any sort of point across. There really isn't any novel or useful information to be found in this book, unfortunately.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to buy this book last semester for a class, that class turned out to change its whole syllabus last minute and we no longer were going to be using the book. I picked it up a couple of days ago while cleaning my bookshelf and I couldn't put it down. I think after take that class I had a better appreciation of what the book potentially could have brought to the course u see the right circumstances. This book is a great read through to understanding how and what will work to produce an urbanized community under the most unlikely of circumstances.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Changing the urban makeup of your city, a DIY guide for residents. While some cities get improving public spaces and streets to be pedestrian and bike friendly as well as building community, others do not or have incredibly cumbersome bureaucracies.

You can find out more online: http://tacticalurbanismguide.com/about/

A fast read, and I've seen or read about several of the projects mentioned. If your interested in better streets and public spaces, it's a must. Sadly the group itself seems inactive, but they've spawned a fair amount of followers.

[Ekaterina Ulitina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Не заумная книжка про урбанизм с картинками – ура! Истории градостроителей, активистов и горожан, которым надоело жаловаться на узкие тротуары и отсутствие зеленых зон, и они взяли ситуацию в свои руки. Только четыре звезды, однако, потому что авторы местами разжевывают мне одну и ту же мысль по двадцать раз.

Архитектуру и урбанизм в Америке сложно прототипировать на Европу или СНГ, потому что у них очень мудреные законы, связанные с зонированием, и потому что эти мудреные законы (в том числе о зонировании) разнятся от штата к штату. Не дайте себя запутать экономическими и политическими тонкостями (если вы не живете в США, вам достаточно понимать их только идейно) и упорно пробирайтесь к концу книжки, где вам дают подробную инструкцию о том, как запустить свой проект активного, локального планирования с помощью точечных гражданских инициатив.

[Tony Crispin · Rating 5 out of 5]

To do Tactical Urbanism right, you’ll probably need some prior urban planning knowledge, but past that, the world is yours! The time to sit around and twiddle our thumbs while waiting for some miracle (or municipal planning commission) to solve all our problems is over. Go out and fix something, I promise you’ll be surprised that your little lonesome can actually accomplish something. Also the book was pretty good too, y’all should read it.

[Shikha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for urban designers. Good American case studies.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty engaging and relatively short book about tactical urbanism. I especially liked the second half, which focused on specific case studies and then went into strategies and recommendations that local governments or community leaders could apply toward implementing their own projects. I felt that there was a little too much background info, but also considering that I already know about tactical urbanism I might be biased since this book seems more aimed toward people who haven't engaged with this as a tactic before. I think it might also be a little outdated by now - it seemed to be referencing things from 2014 or so (although honestly that's mostly my fault because I held off on reading it for so long lolol). Even so, it's still a good reference and attempts to be as jargonless as possible for easy reading.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been recommended to me several times but I could never find it in the library. I ended up buying it online. The concept of "tactical urbanism" is well explained with lots of examples and illustrations. Basically it's a way that urban residents can try out needed changes to their local physical environments. The changes can be "sanctioned" or "unsanctioned" - in other words in some cases you get government approval, such as an event permit for temporarily blocking off a street, or in other cases you might just apply washable paint in the middle of the night. As residents of a place you know if your street is unsafe to cross, there is no green space, destinations are not well-marked, etc. You figure out (ideally with a group of friends and neighbors) what changes the location needs and try out a possible solution on a very temporary basis - perhaps one day, perhaps a week. Maybe you convert a parking spot into bike parking with a bike rack, put up needed directional signs, or create a small park in the middle of a road. You pool your assets to buy the materials or use a crowdfunding site. The amazing thing to me was that in many cases the local government made changes in their zoning or planning policies to incorporate these ideas on a permanent basis!

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tactical Urbanism is about guerrilla planning at the grassroots -- things like pop-up parks or parklets, food trucks taking over parking lots (see Portland), community-created wayfinding or converting street space to plazas (see Broadway, NYC). Written in 2015, it's already strangely dated in that these ideas are now ubiquitous, having been adopted not only by citizens but by local governments, planning agencies, etc. The Covid-19 pandemic with social distancing and bans on crowds will surely put a damper on tactical urbanism projects--or urbanism more generally--but on the other hand, some places are doing things straight out of the tactical urbanism handbook, like closing certain streets to traffic or expanding outdoor dining into parking and street spaces

[Dilong Paradoxus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading *Tactical Urbanism: Short Term Action for Long Term Change* and I definitely recommend it. It's a pretty short book talking about the ethos and tactics of tactical Urbanism, and ways to think about how to apply it to your own community. It is a bit America-centric (although some examples mention similar projects in Europe and South America, for example). I also like that it encourages using some less-than-legal techniques to help push change but also talks about the risks and how you can mitigate some of them (i.e. using easy-to-remove zip ties to attach diy wayfinding signs). Overall very inspiring and I've already brought it up with my coworkers a couple times (I work in local gov).

[Ethan Ready · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting anecdotes about local citizen-led improvement projects. However, the authors write about "urban renewal" as if racial displacement doesn't exist. In fact, the US racial hierarchy is barely mentioned, despite its repeated relevance to the subject matter of urban policy. It's also clear the authors just want to write about NYC, even though they are kind enough to include a few other token cities. They describe NYC and SF as the most livable cities in the US--which of course raises the question, livable for whom? Their analysis of municipal improvements and municipal governments will remain incomplete as long as they avoid questions of power and privilege.

[J I · Rating 2 out of 5]

Presented as a how-to guide with some example case studies, this book ended up being an extended history of the concept and nearly a dozen case studies and less-structured (but still extended) stories of various implementations of the general idea, which a bit of a how-to guide at the end. All of the parts are valuable, but the balance is a bit off--but like a bread with the wrong flour-water balance, while it's a bit dense and a little flat in the middle, it's still worth consuming.

[Wes Cobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book lays out the guidelines for "tactical urbanism," which essentially applies the principles of a lean startup to new urbansim. I found the book fluffy and unnecessarily long at some point. Moreover, many of the "tactical" projects cited in the book were massive projects undertaken by city governments and officials. The truly "tactical" examples, though, were quite inspiring, and the guide could also be quite useful.

[Cuiet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Странная книжка, три четверти её медленно разбираются разные случаи применения тактического урбанизма с пространными рассуждениями, уже становится скучно и жалко, что купил её, но в конце внезапно начинается очень полезная конкретика, вплоть до пошаговых инструкций.

Так что можно пролистать первые три четверти и внимательно изучать концовку.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! Lots of great examples of how to make positive change in cities with few resources. Everything from pocket parks to DIY wayfinding signage was discussed, along with the steps to implement similar projects yourself. The book is a great guide for anyone interested in bettering their community through short-term, small-scale change physical change.

[Xavier Doolittle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Effective at presenting tactical urbanism conceptually and providing lots of well-cited reading and case studies to follow up on, but lacks a very clear vision as to the world these actions should be building towards and a little too committed to the idea of individual projects rather than true collective action.

[JennyB · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Read all of it except the last "how-to" chapter, but I just can no longer get myself to pretend i will slog the rest of the way through. The main problem with this book is that it's dated, and you can probably find better, more contemporary info on the internet. So if you're interested in this topic, do a Google search instead of picking this up.

[Tate Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neolithic settlement of Khoirokoitia on the island of Cyprus had the first street. Roman castra was temporary camp network that connected via gridded streets and led to first version of street grids. Eiffel Tower was constructed for world fair in Paris and was meant to be temporary, showcasing the constructibility of iron.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

An overview of the tactical urbanism movement, with many useful examples and specific advice for a planning process that will help ensure results are well-received. This meaningful work is ever more important as cities recognize the importance of compact, mixed uses.

[Frank Nemecek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the unique books where 90% of what is written is repeated elsewhere and the remaining 10% is so inspiring that I cannot help but give the entire book a 5-star rating. I highly recommend this book for anyone interest in urban planning and/or economic development.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book serves as an excellent “thin end of the wedge” for getting the much needed urban design changes the United States desperately needs. It does an excellent job of empowering anyone to get started making changes to shift our cities and towns from car-centric to human-centric designs.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 years later and this is a still a fantastic guide to improving your city to be more pedestrian friendly. Lots of helpful examples and tools. Highly recommend it. Read it for my internship with Marco te Brömmelstroet.

[Jo-jean Keller]

Compelling, well-written and inspiring with clear examples of successful urban projects and step-by-step instructions for creating a successful project.
Solutions to problems are created with the help of those most impacted.

[Jeff Stade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick weekend read. Compelling case studies of high-impact tactical urbanism projects.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written

[Jeramey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tactical urbanism is a five star idea. Book is definitely targeted at someone not familiar or less familiar with the idea.

[February Four · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish.

[Kendall Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a city planner just interested and I never had really heard of tactical urbanism. I thought it was a really nice intro with interesting examples