Tactical Urbanism

[dougskiles]

City planners and public leaders are frequently preoccupied with making large-scale, transformative change in the built environment. While stadiums, museums, large waterfront parks,and convention centers are all big-ticket items with measurable curb appealâ€"for someâ€"such projects require a substantial investment of time, as well as political, social, and fiscal capital. Moreover, their longterm economic or social benefit cannot be guaranteed.

In the pursuit of progress, citizens are typically invited to engage in a process that is fundamentally broken. Rather than being asked to contribute to incremental change at the neighbohood or block level, residents are asked to react to proposals that are often conceived for interests disconnected from their own, and at a scale for which they have little control. In the pursuit of resilient neighborhoods, cities, and metropolitican regions, surmounting the challenges inherent to this “public” process continues to prove difficult. Fortunately, alternative tactics are available and ready for deployment.

Read more below at this link (be sure to scroll down):

http://www.scribd.com/doc/51354266/Tactical-Urbanism-Final

How about a list of 'guerilla' projects that we are doing/should be doing/could be doing in Jacksonville?

First on the list for me is the Hogans Creek Cleanup.

[Dog Walker]

There was a really great book written in the '70's by an urban planner by the name of Jane Jacobs,
"The Death and Life of Great American Cities".  She made much the same point that cities should prepare infrastructure and remove barriers so that small, organic growth and redevelopment could take place.  She discouraged the use of big "attraction" type projects.

#1 - Change the sign ordinance so that small businesses downtown can make their presence inside the office building known to the people on the street.

[urbanlibertarian]

There was a really great book written in the '70's by an urban planner by the name of Jane Jacobs,
"The Death and Life of Great American Cities".  She made much the same point that cities should prepare infrastructure and remove barriers so that small, organic growth and redevelopment could take place.  She discouraged the use of big "attraction" type projects.

#1 - Change the sign ordinance so that small businesses downtown can make their presence inside the office building known to the people on the street.

Hear, hear!  The problem is finding politicians who will go along with improving infrstructure (not sexy enough), removing barriers (giving away power to tell people what to do) and not getting to cut a ribbon or stick a gold shovel in the ground.

[dougskiles]

How about projects that don't initially involve any politicians?  I'm thinking of small projects that come from the community and perhaps get the attention of a few local businesses.  Baby steps.  Think of thousands of seeds of grass that grow to cover an entire lawn.  All each one has to do is grow a couple of inches.

[Noone]

City planners and public leaders are frequently preoccupied with making large-scale, transformative change in the built environment. While stadiums, museums, large waterfront parks,and convention centers are all big-ticket items with measurable curb appeal—for some—such projects require a substantial investment of time, as well as political, social, and fiscal capital. Moreover, their longterm economic or social benefit cannot be guaranteed.

In the pursuit of progress, citizens are typically invited to engage in a process that is fundamentally broken. Rather than being asked to contribute to incremental change at the neighbohood or block level, residents are asked to react to proposals that are often conceived for interests disconnected from their own, and at a scale for which they have little control. In the pursuit of resilient neighborhoods, cities, and metropolitican regions, surmounting the challenges inherent to this “public” process continues to prove difficult. Fortunately, alternative tactics are available and ready for deployment.

Read more below at this link (be sure to scroll down):

http://www.scribd.com/doc/51354266/Tactical-Urbanism-Final

How about a list of 'guerilla' projects that we are doing/should be doing/could be doing in Jacksonville?

First on the list for me is the Hogans Creek Cleanup.

Hogans Creek is a classic example of Tactical Urbanism. Good post Doug. Hope to see you soon.

[north miami]

there are those that say the preoccupation with Downtown Waterway is irrelevant.

in fact,the waterways are a a stage for tactical responsibility.

See MJ.   Downtown/Noone Hogans Creek Tifecta

[finehoe]

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

[finehoe]

There was a really great book written in the '70's by an urban planner by the name of Jane Jacobs,
"The Death and Life of Great American Cities". 

The book was actually written in 1961, not that that changes your point.

[Dog Walker]

Didn't realize that it was that old.  I read it in the '70's and I guess that stuck in my head.  Jacobs got so disgusted with the continued destruction of our cities that she moved to Toronto and lived there until her death.

[finehoe]

Here's a bit of trivia for you:  I was once interviewed for a job by Jane Jacobs granddaughter.  I think it impressed her that I knew who her grandmother was, because I was offered the job.  I ended up turning it down because the salary was too low.