Aim
- Strengthen the capacities of municipal technical teams to work on the design of inclusive public spaces and the promotion of active mobility.
- Raise public awareness about the use and adaptation of inclusive public roads for all people and modes of transport.
- Map urban processes and assess the potential for modification of public spaces.
Description
Tactical urbanism seeks to improve public mobility conditions and the efficient use of urban open spaces. Through temporary interventions to propose, test and measure infrastructure and activation solutions, it seeks to encourage citizen participation and professional collaboration. Interventions are often agile, efficient, low-cost and, most importantly, allow real-world conditions to be evaluated. A main feature of tactical urbanism is the experimental reconfiguration of public spaces using collective intelligence to successively adapt the results until the final version is reached.
Steps
Las actividades se desarrollaron utilizando la metodología de Design Thinking durante un proceso de urbanismo táctico realizado por el proyecto MiTransporte de la GIZ en Costa Rica. La metodología se basa en dinámicas grupales participativas. Los resultados fueron intervenciones que generaron espacios de reflexión de las experiencias y aprendizaje de los participantes (funcionarios municipales y representaciones de la sociedad civil). Para cada etapa se organizó un taller independiente durante tres semanas.
Participatory design
The participatory design of the interventions is based on re-thinking, re-connecting and re-interpreting. In the first activity, re-thinking, the idea of urban modification is discussed and an exercise of perceptions about the canton, mobility and the intervention area is carried out.
In the re-connecting activity, the participants carry out an awareness-raising exercise in the intervention area. The challenges and opportunities of different forms of mobility are discussed and mapped.
In the re-interpret stage, possible alternatives for road pacification and strengthening of public spaces are presented. Concrete proposals for improving public space are also generated.
Validation of proposals
The tactical urban planning and final intervention proposals are analysed and validated with the assistance of officials and decision-makers, who confirm their support for developing the project in the short term. The project is presented to the other teams in order to share the experience and the results obtained.
Implementation of interventions
The day before the intervention, the assembly of the physical elements is planned in order to identify possible unforeseen events. It is recommended that the intervention remain in place for at least 24 hours to ensure interaction with users.
During the installation, interactions with pedestrians, cyclists and drivers should be established and measured.
Analysis of results
Sampling is done by means of a survey to assess the users’ opinion. This instrument can also be used one week before the intervention in order to have a baseline.
Results
- The experience allows mapping urban processes and the potential to modify public spaces.
- A community sensitive to city life, its challenges and possible improvements.
- Local prototypes, construction plans and blueprints related to specific cases are generated, which can initiate urban transformation processes during planning and feasibility stages.
- Technical and social data are generated through participatory processes, including stakeholder contributions, observations of the behaviour of residents in the intervention area, the census of pedestrians and motorised vehicles, or interviews with stakeholders, for example.
Rules
- It is recommended to intervene in a small space, such as a street and an intersection, rather than spreading a few changes across an entire neighbourhood. Focus the economic investment in furniture, artwork, horizontal and vertical painting and accompanying signage on a smaller area in order to have a greater visual impact. In addition, make interventions close to areas with high pedestrian traffic such as schools and commercial areas.
- Coordination with stakeholders during planning is key, especially with representatives of the road management and/or environmental management department (depending on the objectives of the intervention) and commercial premises in the intervention area.
- The use of visual language supports intuitive understanding. Vertical and horizontal signage informs new road dynamics and ensures the safety of passers-by.
- The use of natural grass as a component in the intervention contributes to changing the appearance of the space.
- Develop road markings with specialised equipment and paint, in order to improve the quality of the intervention.
Scopes and challenges
- The main challenges of tactical urbanism are the involvement of key partners and the communication of temporary changes. It is important to define and address all stakeholders affected by the measures, as well as to engage the population through a clear communication strategy.
- Manage the expectation created in the post-intervention population with the formalisation of the measures uncovered in the process.