“Whether you live in a community large or small, you’ve likely seen it for yourself. Cities around the world are using flexible and short-term projects to advance long-term goals related to street safety, public space, and more.
Tactical Urbanism is all about action. Also known as DIY Urbanism, Planning-by-Doing, Urban Acupuncture, or Urban Prototyping, this approach refers to a city, organizational, and/or citizen-led approach to neighborhood building using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions to catalyze long-term change.”
- Tactical Urbanism
For many, the pandemic is the first time people experienced their communities prioritizing pedestrians over vehicles, a change from the previous 50 years. Reclaimed parking and extra lanes became outdoor seating where restaurants provided socially distanced dining. We saw creativity and simplicity in the materials chosen for construction: planters, painted jersey barriers, canopies, lights and pallets. These are the materials of tactical urbanism, which strives for more pedestrian friendly spaces. Low cost projects have low risk and provide the first step in an incremental approach to demonstrate what is possible in our streets. Even these modest changes bring our communities a little bit closer to a European visual, where cafes spill out onto ample sidewalks.
New outside eating areas were a lifeline to a struggling industry, and added liveliness to streets once filled with empty parked cars. Streets and sidewalks began to resemble their past lives, places for people to gather, linger, chat, and watch. These “new” spaces highlight a scale mismatch in our communities - a scale that prioritizes cars instead of people. A standard parking spot is 400 sqft. Equivalent to a micro-apartment, an average living room, 3 tables for 4 people, parking for 16 bikes, or finally, one vehicle transporting one person…
Improving the quality of a pedestrian space does not take much effort, as we saw. Once people become the priority over cars, urban areas become more accessible for all. Any discussions about improvements from pre-pandemic now seem like blueprints for this generation of outdoor seating spaces. Tactical Urbanism provides a street design manual for activists and public officials, but I will follow the outline created by Sarah Kobos of Strong Towns but with pandemic examples:
Planters
Planters are excellent barriers with heft to protect pedestrian areas. They can protect a few tables or block or entire streets. They have a residual bonus of adding more trees, flowers, and greenery to an otherwise paved void. People feel safe when effective wall separate the street from the sidewalk, as it creates a visual barrier between the pedestrian and moving vehicles. What would you rather walk past: Plants or parked cars?
Outdoor Seating
All urban spaces should contain some form of outdoor seating. This can be for restaurants, for people just passing through who needed a break, for those on their lunch break, for everyone. Seating helps more people stay outside for longer, because it provides options to those who cannot be on their feet for long periods of time. But also as our planet heats up, outside in the shade is a cooler alternative for many in our cities. On top of that we still have to worry about future variants which means more people than ever are outside. We need more space for all of these people to enjoy the outdoors, and that space needs to be reclaimed from extra car lanes and parking.
You would think that whomever rents a parking space can do whatever they wish with them, parking or outdoor seating. But in the North End of Boston, the City is imposing an additional tax on restaurants that use their rented spots as seating. Establishments will now have to pay an additional $7,500 a year if they choose to extend their restaurants outside into a space they already rent for about $11,500 annually.
“A good city is like a good party – people stay longer than really necessary because they are enjoying themselves.”
-Jan Geld
Overhead Lights
String lights have one of the best cost/reward ratio out of anything on this list. They can instantly provide the kind of glow that makes people want to gather. Lighting has a major effect on how we relate to and interact with spaces. Bright light acts as a deterrent while a blue light can be a beacon of help and safety. Lighting primes pedestrians with expectations, and the warm glow of string lights indicates “the party is here”.
Shade
In an increasingly warming world, our health will rely on our outdoor spaces remaining comfortable so people can seek refuge from overheated apartments. Heat Islands are areas with too much blacktop, which primarily impacts low-income communities. Other forms of shade can be provided, from simple hung shapes, to canopies off buildings, umbrellas, tents, and beyond! Much could be said about umbrellas, shading during the sun and demonstrating drizzles alone should not end a meal.
“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
― Anonymous Greek Proverb
Trees
All streets should strive for mature trees, but they need lots of love and attention like a person. They are a truly an inter-generational endeavor and should be treated as such. Certain cities have made tree care an easy way for residents to engage with their communities while beautifying their street. Apps let you identify your local trees, or manage their health and watering schedule. Other trees have their own twitter accounts and emails! These kind of connections empower people to care for their trees and by extension their communities. While connections start digitally, they spread when you meet your neighbors visiting the same tree.
“Cultures and climates differ all over the world, but people are the same. They’ll gather in public if you give them a good place to do it.”
-Jan Geld
Small Scale Amenities… If you allow it, they will come…
What Jan Geld states and I reiterate through a movie quote, is people enjoy being around others and observing what they do, regardless of where. It follows that people gather in groups, so public outdoor spaces should be able to accommodate this. The number of persons in a space will snowball if you let it. You can encourage this growth with small outdoor food options like food trucks. The government process for people to provide mobile entertainment and food pop ups in public spaces must be easy without excessive permits. When food and music come together in any space people will follow.
Examples preventing this process is the field of hostile architecture or design which discourages people from loitering. While the intent is preventing homeless people from setting up camp or skate boarders from doing tricks, the result is far more reaching: Anyone will want to leave after a while. By discouraging “some people”, all people suffer. Urban design should be welcoming and accepting of all types of people, young and old.
“First life, then spaces, then buildings – the other way around never works.”
-Jan Geld
Weather-Resistant Options
Urban spaces need semi permanent structures that can survive several seasons and provide a break from the wind. Structures like this are the middle evolution between cheap options for testing and permanent structures. Restaurants have showcased a variety of creative solutions, proving 400 sqft is enough space for something that can survive the winter. This availability increases the number of days in the year that people can spend time outside in their communities. Many options we see here can take a bit of snow, and many winter days are warm when sitting in the sun. Eating outside still provides that peace of mind when surrounded by others.
COLOR!
Cities should be colorful! Greek and Roman cities were colorful! Time wore off all the paint and we collectively forgot. European cities have texture because of the cobble sidewalks, different cobble streets, walls covered in porcelain tiles or stone and murals on any space leftover. Auto-centric cities have the grey concrete aesthetic that is actually the perfect canvas for murals and street art. Artists would willingly cover every surface if allowed, maybe with some community guidelines in place first. While Boston has begun to catch on, other New England Towns have areas where art is on every corner. These bursts of color make any walk more enjoyable and inspirational.
Outro..no..no..no..
Just a few examples of how it is very easy to improve the quality of any space and start the chain reaction of having people gather. Temporary improvements can lead to long term change in how we utilize the limited empty space in our built environments.
If it were up to me, I would probably eat every meal outside. Its an easy way to get some fresh air under trees with the free entertainment of people walking by, a glass of wine in hand. Maybe I’m lucky and music arrives in the form of a musician or disco roller diva just as my food lands on the table. Is this not the way everyone wants to spend an evening?
Until next time,
P.S. Alright I couldn't resist sneaking in some pictures of Europe. It could look like that here too! Could you tell which was which?