Speaker
Description
Introduction
Street experiments are intentional and temporary changes of street regulations or forms, aimed at instigating people-centric street transitions. During the Covid-19 pandemic, over 300 cities worldwide implemented such interventions — mainly sidewalk expansions, kerb space reallocations, and street closures — to support active mobility and outdoor activities. While these measures initially addressed pandemic-related needs, many cities have since adapted these configurations to non-pandemic contexts. This raises the question: can pandemic-induced street interventions serve as ‘critical junctures’ that catalyse people-centric street transformations (Gregg et al., 2022)? While existing research lacks the temporal scope to fully explore this potential, this study examines how experimental interventions have evolved and stabilised in regulations and design over three years, focusing on the transition from minimalist, temporary measures to more durable structures. Through a multiple case study, we explore the fine line between temporary and permanent streetscape changes and their role in street transitions.
Method
This study employs content and visual analyses to examine the design iterations in pandemic-induced street experiments. An analytical framework was developed to explore temporality and transition, focusing on four key dimensions of street experiments: regulation, material, scale, and duration (Bertolini, 2020). During the data collection phase, we gathered design documents and crowdsourced street images to trace the evolution of interventions. Ideal-typical cities with tactical urbanism-inspired street experiments were identified using the Global PISE Database (Zhao et al., 2024). An initial screening highlighted Denver, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver, London, and Melbourne as cities demonstrating iterative design processes. To further investigate, we conducted semi-structured interviews with key programme initiators between February 2023 and January 2024. These interviews focused on the rationales behind design changes, material selections, and the stabilisation of interventions over time. By analysing design plans, official documents, visual materials, and interview transcripts, we aim to conceptualise formalisation processes in both regulations and materiality.
Result
Evolving from the ad hoc and experimental nature of the pandemic’s “Wild West” phase, temporary street changes have increasingly aligned with formal planning systems. Preliminary findings reveal three key considerations shaping design and material choices: safety, durability, and sustainability. Safety emerged as a primary concern, with specific materials and buffer zones carefully selected to create secure environments for outdoor dining and other activities. Durability was another critical factor, with semi-permanent materials chosen to balance flexibility and cost-effectiveness while withstanding extended trial periods, often lasting several years. Additionally, sustainability played a significant role in decision-making, with efforts to minimise waste and incorporate recycled materials into designs. While these street experiments fostered innovation, program initiators navigated the process with prudence, ensuring their continuation amid increasingly contested urban spaces (Mandhan & Gregg, 2023).
Implications
This study offers valuable implications for both street transitions and streetscape design. In terms of transitions, analysing the evolutionary stages of street experiments helps identify key design features that serve as critical components in facilitating systemic street transformations, as conceptualised within the multi-level perspective framework (Geels, 2005). The findings provide a concrete understanding of the term “critical juncture” in the context of street experiments, highlighting their potential to catalyse long-term urban transitions. More broadly, this research sheds light on innovation pathways for urban space transformations, an increasingly relevant topic in today’s rapidly changing urban environments. From a design perspective, the study reflects on several paradoxes inherent in streetscape design, including the balance between informality and regulation, the appropriate duration of experiments, material selection, and the interplay between temporality and sustainability. These reflections underscore the complexities and challenges of designing streetscapes that not only meet immediate urban needs but also adapt to long-term goals for sustainable and people-centric urban environments.
References
Bertolini, L. (2020). From “streets for traffic” to “streets for people”: can street experiments transform urban mobility? Transport Reviews, 0(0), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2020.1761907
Geels, F. W. (2005). Processes and patterns in transitions and system innovations: Refining the co-evolutionary multi-level perspective. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 72(6 SPEC. ISS.), 681–696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2004.08.014
Gregg, K., Hess, P., Brody, J., & James, A. (2022). North American street design for the coronavirus pandemic: a typology of emerging interventions. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 00(00), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2022.2071970
Mandhan, S., & Gregg, K. (2023). Managing the curb – Public space and use of curbside cafes during the Coronavirus pandemic. Cities, 132(October 2022), 104070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104070
Zhao, J., Sun, G., & Webster, C. (2024). Global Street Experiment: A Geospatial Database of Pandemic-induced Street Transitions. Landscape and Urban Planning. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104931
| Keywords | street experiment; tactical urbanism; people-centric; urban design |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
