DIY urbanism: implications for cities

Abstract

A burgeoning do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism movement is gaining notice in American and global cities as amateur designers create and implement small-scale interventions in urban public spaces. While tactics vary widely and may have some benefits for certain users, they nonetheless have the potential to complicate careful and considered long-term planning and urban design strategies. This article describes the historical and recent precedents upon which the current DIY urbanism movement is built and evaluates DIY interventions in light of their implications for cities, particularly how cities might engage with DIY projects in ways that maximize their potential for positive change while meeting objectives such as public safety, equity, and adherence to long-range visions.

Keywords:

• do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism
• tactical urbanism
• urban design
• DIY design

Notes

1. Other terms that have been used include Bottom-Up Urbanism, Self-Help Urbanism, Unstable Urbanism, User-Generated Urbanism, Ad-Hoc Urbanism, Experimental Urbanism, Improvisational Urbanism, Unplanned Urbanism, Participatory Urbanism, Prototype Urbanism, Grassroots Urbanism, Open-Source Urbanism, Informal Urbanism, Urban Bricolage, Urban Acupuncture, and Urban First Aid. This is not a comprehensive list.

2. Parkour, or “free running,” is a form of physical activity in which participants move at high speeds through urban environments traversing objects using techniques from gymnastics, martial arts, and mountain climbing.

3. As with many aspects of DIY, “seed bombing” is both new and not new. Liz Christy and the eventual Green Guerillas invented the “seed grenade” using Christmas tree ornaments, condoms, or balloons filled with seeds and fertilizer in a similar manner to promulgate greenery on empty lots on New York City’s Lower East Side in the early 1970s (Schmelzkopf 1995; Hassell 2002).

4. Miller-McCune is now known as Pacific Standard.