Tactical Urbanists transform streets overnight

Summary

In an inspiring story of grassroots urban transformation, individuals frustrated with slow governmental processes are embracing "tactical urbanism" to make their cities safer and more pleasant. Starting with unsanctioned but effective projects like painting crosswalks, this movement has grown to work with city officials to create temporary projects that encourage community engagement and iterate urban design rapidly. The approach has found broader acceptance, especially during the pandemic, revolutionizing how we think about urban spaces and paving the way for faster, effective change.

Highlights

• Ron Thompson and Michael Kercher took urban safety into their own hands by painting a crosswalk 🖌️.
• Tactical urbanism emphasizes community-led projects to improve city infrastructure quickly 🏗️.
• Cities are increasingly partnering with tactical urbanists to pilot faster urban improvements 🤝.
• Jersey City implemented extensive protected bike lanes in record time through these methodologies 🚴‍♀️.
• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of tactical urbanism, reshaping public spaces 🌍.
• Temporary interventions like outdoor dining areas became vital during the pandemic, aligning with tactical urbanism's flexible approach 🍽️.

Key Takeaways

• Tactical urbanism is a grassroots movement transforming city spaces quickly and effectively 🚧.
• The movement began with unsanctioned projects like painting crosswalks and evolved to partner with cities 👷‍♂️.
• Tactical urbanism uses temporary, cost-effective materials to test and iterate urban designs 🛠️.
• Cities are now embracing these methods, especially during the pandemic, to improve public spaces faster 🏙️.
• Innovative urban interventions have increased safety and cycling infrastructure in cities like Jersey City 🚴‍♂️.
• Partnerships between tactical urbanists and city governments can lead to rapid implementation of successful projects 🌆.

Overview

Picture this: a frustrated local deciding they’ve had enough of dangerous intersections without crosswalks. Meet Ron Thompson and Michael Kercher, who took grassroots action in Washington DC and paved the way for a movement known as tactical urbanism. These community-driven changes, albeit starting illegally, aim to improve local infrastructures with quick, temporary fixes.

Speaking of transformation, cities across the United States are now waking up to the benefits of tactical urbanism. By collaborating with dedicated urban planners like Mike Lydon and Tony Garcia from Street Plans, municipalities are debuting new urban designs to meet the demands of their citizens and to increase safety. Projects like temporary bike lanes and street closures for pedestrians are redefining cityscapes at a rapid pace.

Amidst the global pandemic, tactical urbanism has skyrocketed. Social distancing needs have propelled cities to use their public spaces creatively, from outdoor dining to extended bike paths. This phenomenon aligns perfectly with the tactical urbanism philosophy of temporary, affordable, and community-oriented solutions, bringing a newfound vibrancy and practicality to urban areas worldwide.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Tactical Urbanism The chapter introduces Ron Thompson, who was frustrated with the dangerous traffic conditions in DC. Despite requesting a crosswalk installation at a confusing intersection, the city government did not respond. In 2018, after a pedestrian was killed nearby, Ron, along with activist Michael Kercher, took matters into their own hands by illegally painting a crosswalk, highlighting the risks they were willing to take for safety.
• 00:30 - 01:00: The Rise of Tactical Urbanism The chapter discusses the rise of 'tactical urbanism', a movement where citizens actively participate in improving urban spaces through small, community-led actions. This approach echoes the grassroots development of cities historically. Across the nation, individuals frustrated with slow governmental processes regarding urban infrastructure are taking proactive steps. Surprisingly, instead of resisting, city administrations are beginning to embrace these citizen-led initiatives.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Impact of Tactical Urbanism Projects The chapter discusses the collaboration with tactical urbanists to initiate immediate enhancements in urban infrastructure. Spearheaded by Mike Lydon and Tony Garcia of Street Plans, these projects are designed to enhance street, block, and city environments efficiently. The approach tackles the inertia and diverse demands present within urban settings, particularly when city governments face challenges in promptly addressing infrastructure needs.
• 02:00 - 03:30: Case Study: Jersey City The chapter discusses a case study on Jersey City focusing on tactical urbanism. It highlights how individuals take initiative in improving their local communities when others, like neighbors and local businesses, do not. An example given is the emergence of little free libraries, which demonstrate care for the public space. Tactical urbanism projects are described as temporary, low-cost interventions using readily available materials, serving as proof-of-concept for urban planning. If these projects receive positive feedback, they can accelerate the process of implementing permanent changes in the city.
• 03:30 - 05:00: Pandemic and Tactical Urbanism The chapter discusses the implementation of a bike lane in Ojai using tactical urbanism. There are community concerns, leading the city to request a demonstration using temporary materials for flexibility and learning purposes. The discussion touches on the evolution of tactical urbanism from unauthorized actions to cities actively seeking these initiatives.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Conclusion and Call to Action The chapter "Conclusion and Call to Action" discusses the unique challenges faced by Jersey City, noted as the third most densely populated large city in the U.S., following New York and San Francisco. As the population grows, traditional transportation and pedestrian methods are proving insufficient. The chapter highlights the issue of pedestrian safety and the city's efforts to address these challenges by hiring a team, including the company Street Plans, to develop strategies that make the city safer, more beautiful, and inclusive.

Tactical Urbanists transform streets overnight Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Narrator] Ron Thompson was frustrated. [Ron] We have this traffic that flows through here with folks speeding [Narrator] The year was 2018. He'd requested that the city government of DC install a crosswalk at a dangerous, confusing intersection. [Ron] We have a school sign that isn't even visible. You can't see the flashing lights. [Narrator] Then in 2019, just blocks away a pedestrian was killed. So Ron decided to act. He teamed up with another activist, Michael Kercher, and they painted a crosswalk themselves. It was illegal, but they felt the risk was worth it.
• 00:30 - 01:00 What Ron and Michael did is one example of a broader movement, called tactical urbanism. [Mike] At the heart of the tactical urbanist is a commitment to community, citizens making their cities better, one action at a time. That is basically how cities got built from the very beginning. [Narrator] Across the country, people frustrated with the pace of change in urban infrastructure are taking matters into their own hands. And a surprising thing is happening. Instead of fighting back, cities are embracing the approach,
• 01:00 - 01:30 partnering with tactical urbanists to bootstrap improvements in infrastructure. [Mike] These projects are aimed at making a better street, a better block, a better city. [Narrator] This is Mike Lydon. He and his partner, Tony Garcia, run Street Plans, an urban planning firm that uses tactical urbanism techniques to change city infrastructure quickly. [Mike] Within cities, there's a lot of inertia. There's a lot of competing demands. Kind of, the common thread is "well, if the city government's not doing it
• 01:30 - 02:00 and if my neighbors aren't doing it and the local businesses aren't doing it, I'm going to do it." And so, like, the best example of that are the little free libraries that pop up around the globe. That's the smallest kind of scale of intervention, but it signals a care for the public realm. [Narrator] For the most part, tactical urbanism projects are meant to be temporary, made quickly and on the cheap with readily available materials. They're like a proof-of-concept for urban planning projects. But if people like a project, it can be a fast-track method to get a city to make a permanent change.
• 02:00 - 02:30 [Tony] Today we've been building a bike lane in Ojai. The community has some concerns about it. And so what they've asked us to do is to demonstrate it using short-term materials, so that we can make adjustments, the city can make adjustments over time, and then those learnings can be incorporated into the final design. [Mike] We've really seen evolution in tactical urbanism, going from under-the-cover-of-night, no permission, that still occurs, but as this movement has evolved, more and more, we're working with cities that are asking for that to happen.
• 02:30 - 03:00 Jersey City is this incredible place. [Barkha] It's the third, most-densely-populated, large city in the nation, after New York City and San Francisco. And as more and more people live in Jersey City, they all can't move around the same way that they used to. [Mike] The city has challenges with pedestrian safety. And so we were hired as a team to make it safer, more beautiful, more inclusive, et cetera. [Narrator] The Jersey City government tapped Street Plans
• 03:00 - 03:30 to quickly iterate on a bicycle master plan, part of the city's broad push to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. [Barkha] Using tactical urbanism, we're able to get something out on the ground, test it, have a conversation with the community, and if it doesn't work, to take it away. And if it works, to really go all in and scale up the project. [Mike] We set up temporary, protected bike lanes. And at that time, Jersey City had no protected bike lanes in the city. And so we did this over one weekend. It was really meant to engage
• 03:30 - 04:00 and showcase what protected bike lanes are. [Narrator] A couple of tweaks were made, but the Jersey City government finalized the designs in under a year. More bike lanes are in the works, and Jersey City streets are already safer, as a result. [Barkha] We've installed about 10 miles of protected bike lanes in just over a year. We're seeing, you know, major increases in cycling on many of our streets, up to 200% in some cases. [Mike] A city the scale of Jersey City, 10 miles creates an impact,
• 04:00 - 04:30 and we're just getting started. Up until the winter of 2020, we felt like tactical urbanism was being steadily adopted at a pretty exciting clip, but what the pandemic ushered in was kind of an explosion of tactical urbanism. [Barkha] With the pandemic, we see that there's a need for things like outdoor dining. There's a need for a different way to use the street, which happens to align with the way
• 04:30 - 05:00 that we've been wanting to think about transportation for a long time, anyway. [Mike] It's really unfortunate that is what created this movement at even a bigger scale, but all the principles of temporary, flexible, quick proved to be made for this moment. [Barkha] How has it been working out? - It's good. [Barkha] Good? - Yeah, I'm thrilled about this, so-- [Barkha] Good. - It proves to be a (inaudible) [Barkha] Yeah, it's looking like it. [Mike] You know, seeing the outdoor dining, seeing the streets closed to cars so families can go out,
• 05:00 - 05:30 it brought a level of joy and normalcy back at a time when we need each other more than ever. [Tony] I have an urgency to this work, and I think it's important for us to accelerate the good things that we can do in the world. [Mike] The barriers to change is us. If we break down those barriers, we can make lots of great things happen very quickly. [Narrator] Hey, thanks for watching this video, made possible by Ford. If you liked it, share it with a friend.
• 05:30 - 06:00 And check out Freethink.com for more stories of people moving the world.