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Authors: Heather Polnick Carrie Yap Dissertation Supervisor: Ombretta Romice
Tactical Urbanism in Cumnock: A critical review of the process and its relation to planning, education, and community development
Masters Dissertation for the University of Strathclyde 2013 Date of Submission: September 3rd 2013 Word Count: 21 468
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Abstract
Tactical urbanism has been increasing in popularity as a planning trend over the past few decades; however, the idea of tactical urbanism can be traced back to 16th century Paris or possibly even earlier. Tactical urbanism projects are temporary small-scale interventions that seek to address social, built and environmental issues within local environments (Brass and Koziell, 1994: 7). The results of these projects are a form of experimental change that serves to create dialogue and generate interest for future development (Ho, 2013). The purpose of this dissertation was to critically understand the process of tactical urbanism (including the roles of various actors) and its relation to planning, community development, and education. It also attempts to shed some light on the potential future of tactical urbanism as a planning trend. To understand the topic of tactical urbanism, this dissertation has two main features: a literature review which strives to understand the underlying theories, and two case studies in the form of tactical urbanism projects set in the small East Ayrshire town of Cumnock. Much of literature behind the theory of tactical urbanism has failed to address one key element; the challenges of the process. Although tactical urbanism involves small-scale interventions, requiring little time, commitment, and financial support, we suggest this is only relative, and the actuality of implementing a tactical urbanism project is that it is much more difficult. Lack of time and community support are two issues we encountered, both of which could be challenges for any tactical urbanism project. We recognize that what some would perceive as failure, is actually part of the process, and view any hurdles as a valuable learning experience.
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Acknowledgements We would like to thank all of those who helped with the completion of our dissertation. This could not have been accomplished without the support of Ombretta Romice, our supervisor, Mark Greaves, our liaison for The Prince’s Foundation and a number of local contacts, and the Cumnock Juniors Football Club (Scott McCulloch, John Sanderson, Wullie Dick, and Jim Menhams), who provided us with a successful and supportive partnership throughout the mural project. We also relied on support from an array of other sources, including The Prince’s Foundation, who gave us financial backing, Dave and Pat Hewet, who helped to spread the word and gather stories for the Woodroad Park exhibition, East Ayrshire Council, Strathclyde Administrative Staff, and all of the volunteers/supporters, including our friends, without whom our projects would not have been as successful; we extend our deepest gratitude to all those involved.
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Key Terms Agent of Change: Those who are directly involved in the organization, facilitation, and operation of the tactical urbanism project. As an agent of change, one must invest a significant amount of time, commitment, and determination (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165).
includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for the community’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use” (Antrim County, 2007). Participatory Process: The participatory process is key to tactical urbanism. The biggest barrier is attaining an agreement of understanding of goals and values among all stakeholders (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165).
DIY Urbanism: Do-It-Yourself-Urbanism is characterized by projects lead by non-professionals who seek to renovate or revitalize areas that are considered dead or vacant. Financial and Community Support: As one of the main struggles for communities involved in tactical urbanism, this consists of attaining the support from institutions both in terms of resources and community support (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165).
Prince’s Foundation for Building Community (PFBC): The PFBC began in 1987, with a vision to develop sustainable communities for the future. Project Based Learning: Through project based learning, students are given the opportunity to participate in authentic projects rather than just theoretical ones.
East Ayrshire Coucnil (EAC): Primary governing body for Cumnock and the surrounding region.
Public Participation: Participants are actively involved in the planning process.
Four Towns Report: Four Town report created by the Prince’s Foundation and East Ayrshire Council. This report outlines future development initiatives for the towns for Cumnock, New Cumnock, Mauchline, and Auchinleck.
Sanctioned Project: Sanctioned projects are known as urban interventions and are often led by those in the professional field, including planners and architects.
Gatekeepers: Key stakeholders within the town. Key stakeholders include members of the local authority, business owners, or members of community groups.
Tactical Urbanism: Tactical urbanism projects are temporary small-scale interventions that strive to address social, built and environmental issues within the local environment (Brass and Koziell, 1994: 7), and serve to create dialogue and generate interest for future permanent change (Ho, 2013).
Master Plan: ”A Master Plan is a comprehensive long range plan intended to guide growth and development of a community or region. It
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Unsanctioned Project: Unsanctioned projects are completed without involvement from a larger professional body and often do not have the permission of the city or the subsequent landowner; DIY Urbanism is a form of unsanctioned project Urban Design: Urban design is responsible for physical design of a place. It uses planning frameworks as a guideline for extending its creativity. Urban Design Studies Unit (UDSU): The Urban Design Studies Unit is a group based out of the University of Strathclyde, their focus is based around the problems of urban rehabilitation, renewal and restructuring. Urban Planning: Urban planning is responsible for designing the framework, encompassing any relevant policies and procedures that make a place.
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Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................1 Site..................................................................................................................3 Projects.........................................................................................................8 Objectives...................................................................................................10 Tactical Urbanism..................................................................................................11 Tactical Urbanism in the Planning Framework...........................15 History..........................................................................................................19 Planning Education and Tactical Urbanism................................24 Actors and Relationships....................................................................26 Implementation.........................................................................................31 Methods....................................................................................................................35 Project 1: Mural.......................................................................................38 Project 2: Woodroad Park Memory Walk ...............................52 Discussion...............................................................................................................60 Support and Planning..........................................................................60 Agents of Change.................................................................................62 Education and Participation...............................................................64 Future Implications.................................................................................66 Conclusion...............................................................................................................68 Authors’ Reflection................................................................................................71 Bibliography............................................................................................................73 Appendices.............................................................................................................77 Youth Participation.................................................................................77 Timeline.......................................................................................................79 Knockroon.................................................................................................81 Additional Comments About mural.................................................82
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Table of Figures Figures Figure 1: Understanding Tactical Urbanism ........................................................2 Figure 2: Site Location...................................................................................................3 Figure 3: Distinctive Features......................................................................................4 Figure 4: Fear Map.........................................................................................................6 Figure 5: Project Sites....................................................................................................9 Figure 6: Potatoes for People (case study)........................................................13 Figure 7: Successful Places......................................................................................15 Figure 8: Tactical Urbanism Process....................................................................17 Figure 9: Master Plan Education............................................................................25 Figure 10: Levels of Participation............................................................................27 Figure 11: Path to Permanency...............................................................................31 Figure 12: Foundation and Developmental Elements.....................................33 Figure 13: Communicating to the Public..............................................................37 Figure 14: Project 1-Untouched Wall at Cumnock Juniors FC..................39 Figure 15: Living Our Dreams Mural (case study)...........................................40 Figure 16: Brixton Community Garden Mural (case study).........................40 Figure 17: Project 1-Scoping Session with Cumnock Academy.......43-44 Figure 18: Project 1-Painting Day 1........................................................................45 Figure 19: Project 1-Painting Day 2.......................................................................46 Figure 20: Project 1-Painting Day 3......................................................................47 Figure 21: Project 1-Mural in Action.......................................................................48 Figure 22: Project 1-Mural in Action......................................................................49 Figure 23: Project 1-Exhibition Game Photograph..........................................50 Figure 24: Project 1-Exhibition Game Photograph..........................................50 Figure 25: Project 1-Exhibition Game Photograph...........................................51 Figure 26: Project 2-Overton Park Stories (case study)..............................54 Figure 27: Project 2-Riley Park Stories (case study).....................................54
Figure Figure Figure Figure
28: Project 2-Visitor’s Book Locations within Cumnock..................56 29: Project 2-Visitor’s Book Before and After......................................56 30: Project 2-Woodroad Park Exhibition Day......................................57 31-34: Project 2-Vintage Images of Cumnock Carnival..................59
Tables Table 1: Comparing Statistics.......................................................................................5 Table 2: Outcomes of Participation.........................................................................29 Table 3: Summary of Meetings.................................................................................36
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Introduction In the past decade, the term tactical urbanism has increased in popularity. Pop-up cafes or crosswalks, parklets, guerilla gardens, and gifterventions are just a few examples of the projects that can be found around the world. Though no formal tactical urbanism database exists, its position as the top planning trend of the year signifies its importance to the planning field (Nettler, 2012). Tactical urbanism projects are temporary small-scale interventions that strive to address social, built, and environmental issues within the local environment (Brass and Koziell, 1994: 7). Those who participate in tactical urbanism projects cannot be categorized by class, area or issue, rather they are ordinary citizens who have a passion for a cause (Brass and Koziell,1994: 8) and are known as agents of change (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165). Driven by their own personal responsibility and duty to their community, they take action for what they believe in rather than waiting for someone else, such as a formal agency, to make the difference (Brass and Koziell, 1994:7). “There is a very different culture of politics growing up...It’s about people wanting to take responsibility for their own lifestyles and realizing that how they live-in terms of their own health or what they consume is actually a political action. It’s a realization that individual actions influence the overall fabric of society and how it works” ( Brass and Koziell, 1994:10). The intended interventions are a form of experimental change that serve to create dialogue and generate interest for future permanent change (Ho, 2013). In being experimental, a tactic is able to measure and adapt to the local context if permanency is in its future. Short-
term interventions are about creating dialogue, long-term are about permanent fixtures, and medium-term are behind the scenes activities that lead to permanency (Brass and Koziell, 1994:10). With this in mind, there are five characteristics to every tactical urbanism project: 1. Vision: Purposeful strategies to attain change 2. Context: Local solutions to address local challenges 3. Agility: Short-term commitment and realistic goals 4. Value: Low risks with the possibility for high reward 5. Community: Production of social capital (Lydon et al., 2012:2) Tactical urbanism is a broad term that does not refer to one “tactic” in specific but to any intervention that resolves an urban problem (Greco, 2012:3). They take place in the private or public realm depending on its intention and materialize in the form of visual interventions, events, or workshops while addressing the following issues: urban environment, urban policy, appearance, belonging or publicness (Tostes, 2013:7). The outcome for any tactic should be to mobilize activity, re-image or re-activate a place, or create platforms for dialogue (creativeroots.dk, 2013). To understand the topic of tactical urbanism, this dissertation has two main features: a literature review, which strives to understand 1
the underlying theories, and two case studies in the form of tactical urbanism projects set in Cumnock, Scotland: one sanctioned and one unsanctioned. The objective of this research was to perform a critical review of the tactical urbanism process and evaluate the benefits and challenges of participating in tactical urbanism. The tactical urbanism projects were executed in Cumnock because of a yearlong agreement between the East Ayrshire Council (EAC), the Prince's Foundation and the University of Strathclyde’s Urban Design Studies Unit (UDSU). Over the past year, students undertook a thorough analysis of the town and created long-term master plans of various areas within the community; short-term goals (tactical urbanism interventions) were also commissioned to see what could be done at the present. The purpose of the tactical urbanism projects was to demonstrate how the delivery of short-term projects can change an environment, inspire residents, and instil a sense of local pride.
Key Characteristics Vision Context Agility Value Community
Issues
Types of Tactics
Scale
Urban environment Urban policy Appearance Belonging Publicness
Visual Intervention Events Workshops
Sanctioned Unsanctioned
Figure 1: Understanding Tactical Urbanism
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Site
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The town of Cumnock is located in the East Ayrshire region in the South West of Scotland. A town of around 9000 inhabitants, it was historically the market town for the surrounding region, including Auchinleck, Muirkirk, Logan, Ochiltree, and New Cumnock. Formed in 1755, the town of Cumnock is best known for its strong coal mining history ,which continues to resonate with the current population (Strawhorn, 1996,Lampard, 2005: Ooi 2012). At its peak from 1860 to 1910, more than eight mining pits were active in the area (ibid). Although never as prominent mining, pottery, fabrics, and farming were also strong industries (ibid). The dependence on mining as a source of employment is an explanation for the growth of the town itself, as many neighbourhoods within the town were built to house the miners and their families (ibid). Its strong coal mining history also produced local heroes, such as Keir Hardie, who was an advocate for miners’ rights and a founding member of the Labour party (ibid); his legacy can be found in and around the town.
Woodroad Park Viaduct
Town Centre
Viaduct Rivers
Figure 3: Distinctive Features
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Current State
Table 1: Comparing Statictics
The decline of the mining industry began in 1980s (ibid). Currently, there are a few active coal pits around the region but the vast majority have closed down or are in the process of doing so. The closures have affected not only a town but also region dependent on mining as a primary source of employment and capital. The declining mining industry particularly affected the town centre. As the former market town for the area, the town center of Cumnock has experienced a significant decrease in shopping, employment, and leisure as it now competes with outlier towns such as Kilmarnock. However, despite the momentum of activity occurring elsewhere, such as Knockroon or Dumfries House, the town centre continues to maintain a certain level of cultural significance as the historical regional hub (Strawhorn,1966).
Indicator
Cumnock
East Ayrshire
Income Deprived
20%
20%
18%
16%
674
526
(2009/2010)
Employment Deprived (2009/2010)
Crimes per 10,000 (2007/2008)
(Higgins and Spurway, 2012)
Cumnock is now characterized by: 1. High unemployment 2. High drug use and violence rates 3. High mortality 4. Deteriorating built environment (Higgins and Spurway, 2012) ....see Table 1
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Figure 4: Fear Map Source: Tan and Pell, 2012
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As part of the Urban Design Studies Units’ year working in Cumnock, an analysis of the town and its economic, social, and physical characteristics was undertaken. This allowed us to identify two main problems that persist in Cumnock: the deteriorating town centre, and the local residents' perception of Cumnock. Due to the economic climate of the United Kingdom, boarded up shops, a lack of variety, and a deteriorating built environment characterize the town centre in Cumnock. In relation, the perception by local residents of their town also ranks very low, with many of them describing their town using less than positive adjectives (see Figure 4).
on the relationship between locals and the local authority. There may be issues with perception or council involvement, but what is key to any tactical urbanism project is the desire for change; this characteristic is what makes Cumnock an ideal candidate for tactical urbanism projects.
Youth from Cumnock also have a negative perception of their own town. The youth fail to see the potential or opportunities in this once thriving town resulting in a diminished sense of pride or loyalty. Like many small towns, Cumnock has a problem with territorial identities as people identify themselves based on the neighborhood rather than from the town. From older generations, negative perceptions are more in the form of regret. Older residents recognize the troubles that characterize their town but they defend Cumnock based on the memory of what it once was. However, the negative perception does not carry throughout the town as there are many active groups in Cumnock, ranging from youth arts and sports groups to social groups who collate to provide Cumnock with some aspect of community spirit. The main issue is not a lack of desire from residents to improve the town but an insecurity of what should be done and a reliance on the local authority to fix the problem. Although the problems may be within the local authority's jurisdiction, their actions maybe limited due to resources or time. This may have negative repercussions in terms of maintaining hope for future change and may have a negative impact 7
Projects Two projects were delivered as part of the process of understanding tactical urbanism. As non-residents of the community, we relied on two organizations to aid us in acquiring relevant documents and contacts in order to better understand the area. These organizations acted as gatekeepers for the community by helping us to establish a rapport and legitimize our projects. Prince's Foundation for Building Community (PFBC) The Prince's Foundation for Building Community began in 1987 with a vision to develop sustainable communities for the future. For the past few years, they have had a strong presence in the East Ayrshire region via the purchase of Dumfries House and the planning, design, and ongoing construction of Knockroon as well as numerous initiatives being delivered at and through the Dumfries House Estate. Through extensive community engagement exercises, they also wrote the Four Towns Report, which outlined plans for regeneration and focused on the four towns of Auchinleck, Cumnock, Mauchline, and New Cumnock. As gatekeepers to Cumnock, they introduced us to East Ayrshire Council and local organizations such as YIP World, CREATE, Cumnock Juniors Football Club, local businesses, and local councilors. They also helped to plan, co-ordinate and attend events including an initial Scoping Workshop, attended by key officers and officials from East Ayrshire Council and other community representatives and stakeholders. In addition, they facilitated attendance at EAC events such as a Main Issues Report community consultation and a ‘Future Cumnock’ workshop.
East Ayrshire Council (EAC) The East Ayrshire Council (EAC) is the local governing agency for Cumnock and the wider region. Based in Kilmarnock, the council was formed with a merger of the local council and Doon Valley Council in 1996 when the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 came into effect (Undiscovered Scotland, 2000). The EAC were one our first contacts for the town. They offered a great deal of support, through the provision of planning and other background documents, contacts as well as offering the opportunity to attend events as mentioned above that furthered our learning experience. Though well appreciated by the Urban Design Studies Unit, the formation of East Ayrshire Council has had both positive and negative repercussions to the town. As a governing body no longer exists specifically for Cumnock, residents feel as if their needs are overlooked for the town of Kilmarnock. Experiences that reflect the negative sentiments include the decrease in investment that led to the closure of the outdoor pool in Woodroad Park. Despite limited resources, UDSU students felt EAC genuinely wanted to make a difference. EAC has contributed greatly to the rejuvenation plans for Cumnock's town Centre in the Four Towns report created in collaboration with the PFBC. It also supports the Cumnock Conservation Regeneration Scheme (CARS), which provides grants to conservation buildings or initiatives and has developed plans to replace the deteriorating shopping centre in Cumnock.
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Project 1: The focus of this sanctioned project is a mural at the site of Cumnock Juniors Football Club (Cumnock Juniors FC). Since its formation in 1912, Cumnock Juniors Football Club has been a key player to the town as both a source of entertainment and visible supporter of community events. In collaboration with Cumnock Academy, the local secondary school, we have delivered a mural that commemorates Cumnock Juniors Football Club in its centenary year. The purpose of this project will be to evaluate the process of a sanctioned project while evaluating how tactical urbanism is able change people's perception of a place.
Woodroad Park
Subject of Project 2
Cumnock Juniors Football Club Subject of Project 1
Project 2: "Woodroad Park: a stroll down memory lane" is an unsanctioned project that focuses on remembering one of Cumnock's forgotten natural features. As a former hub for social events and daily routines, this park was once the epitome of Cumnock social life and would go on to impact the lives of many local residents. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the process of an unsanctioned project and measure its impact and success on creating dialogue and recognizing Woodroad Park as a distinctive feature of Cumnock. Figure 5: Project Sites
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Objectives This research paper strives to achieve the following: 1. Critically understand and review the process of tactical urbanism 2. Understand the implications of tactical urbanism in the overall system of planning, education, and community development 3. Understand the role of various actors in developing a successful project 4. Explore the future of tactical urbanism
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Tactical Urbanism A literature review was undertaken as part of the research process for this project. By understanding the theoretical background of tactical urbanism, we are able to better understand the actual process required for executing tactical urbanism. The topics explored include: the definition of tactical urbanism, history, actors and relationships, and implementation. Tactical urbanism is part of the urban design and planning process for better place making. Two drivers influence planning development: the market and the governing body (Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:6). When these two drivers interact ideally, they create good quality plans. Conversely when one of the drivers dominates the other, default urbanism occurs (ibid). Default urbanism is defined as second-rate places that result from decisions that do take into account sense of place (Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:7). Examples of default urbanism include housing developments or large retail centres, which have come to represent the everyday experience for most people living in Western cities (ibid). Deregulation is the main reason for default urbanism and was introduced in the 1970s as one of the principles of neoliberalism. Neoliberalism as one the founding theories of capitalism preaches that individual liberty is the result of a free-market economy (Thorsen and Lie, 2006: 10). In a free-market economy, the state forfeits some of the power that controls the economy for the good of society and its citizens, hence deregulation (ibid). Deregulation appears in the planning sector as governing agencies have readily given more power to the private sector (development firms). This transfer of power encourages developers to build, but loose regulations by the governing agencies have also allowed developers to leave out critical elements of place making as a cost savings measure, resulting in default urbanism.
Governing agencies have quickly begun to realize that second rate built environments, namely default urbanism can have negative social, physical, and cultural effects such as the increased isolation within communities. In the United Kingdom, the most recent planning trend is the drive towards the construction of quality places that are safe, healthy, prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable (UK Government 2009:2). This drive towards quality places is known as place making or urban design (Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:13). The official United Kingdom definition for urban design is as follows: “Urban design is the art of making places for people. It includes the way places work and matters such as community safety, as well as how they look. It concerns the connections between people and places, movement and urban form, nature and the built fabric and the process for ensuring successful villages, towns, and cities� (DETR and CABE 2000:8). In a built area, the act of place making is about working within the local context to emphasize its strengths and opportunities, neutralizing a site's threats and weaknesses in order to create a better sense of place represented by the five characteristics above (Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:14). Whether existing or in the process of being planned, urban design is about delivering interventions for better place making, whether it is short, medium or long term (Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:12). Tactical urbanism is a form of short-term urban design intervention. Interest in tactical urbanism is a response to many factors including the economic downturn, increasing use of the Internet ,which has redefined space, 11
the use of low capital but creative intensive means to enter the market, and the increasing interaction between different professional fields (Killing Architects 2012:46). Within place making, tactical urbanism acts as the catalyst against default urbanism. All projects under tactical urbanism fall into one of the following categories: sanctioned or unsanctioned projects. The criteria that make up either one of these variations are based on the scale and the actors involved.
1. Unsanctioned Projects Unsanctioned projects are known as DIY urbanism or Do-It-Yourselfurbanism. As grassroots interventions, these projects are grown out of frustration with the bureaucratic system, the landowner, or the city over a lack of action, decay, or prolonged vacancy of a place. Due to their strong desire to seek change, unsanctioned projects often do not have the permission of the city or the subsequent landowner. There are four key elements to every DIY urbanism movement: 1. Interventions are led by non-professionals 2. Interventions occur in areas that considered dead, vacant or empty 3. Interventions aim to “renovate, revamp, and revitalize� 4. Interventions occur in areas of decline due to the loss of capital, trade, or the financial crisis (Deslandes, 2013:218) As part of the bottom up movement, DIY urbanists appear to be antiprofessional in nature because their projects are based on the motive of making the intervention "work for them" (Deslandes, 2013:219). Frustrated with a formal system, DIY urbanists may not work with formal firms as they feel they cannot maximize their creativity due to the restrictions placed upon them by a firms reputation, contacts, or investments. As they work outside the formal rules, DIY projects are often perceived as rule breaking. Their unregulated and bottom up methods mean that there are often two challenges that accompany their actions: permission and regulation and law.
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a. Permission Permission refers to the physical built area where permission to perform an intervention has not been granted by either the landowner or the authorizing municipality. Without proper permission and despite success, an intervention can be identified as illegal, fines can be imposed ,and the intervention can be removed.
b. Regulation and Law As a bottom up movement, the secondary challenge for DIY urbanists is challenging and changing the attitude of those in charge of creating or upholding the law (Merker, 201:53). The goal for most DIY urbanists is not to fight the governing structure but to engage them in the process (ibid).
In May 2012 in Calgary, Canada, a group known as Potatoes for the People opted to grow potatoes on a vacant parcel of land. The aim of this group was to grow potatoes for the Inter-faith Food Bank whilst repurposing the parcel, which had been left empty for years. In addition to planting, efforts by the group extended to garbage removal, soil repair, as well as a newly painted fence. A local governing agency discovered the intervention and Potatoes for the People was fined for trespassing, as the group had not sought permission from the landowner (Hislop, 2012).
While DIY urbanists are often portrayed as lawbreakers and vandals whose actions disrupt or devalue a place, the reality is often the opposite (Deslandes, 2013:221). DIY projects are often lawful, regulated and can raise property values, by preventing vandalism, graffiti, or squatting (ibid). When in the form of art and placement, their interventions challenge the “barriers to entry” meaning they provide accessibility to social classes who are otherwise unable to access creative venues due to financial reasons (Deslandes, 2013: 219). There are many examples of positive unsanctioned projects that became permanent features, they include “Les Bourquinistes” who were booksellers along the Seine River in 16th century Paris and are currently still active (Lydon et al., 2012) or guerilla crosswalks in Baltimore, Maryland where road markings were painted across a busy street with white paint and rollers to communicate the need for better pedestrian infrastructure; they were later adopted permanently by the local municipality (Lydon et al., 2012).
Figure 6: Potatoes for People (Hislop, 2012)
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2. Sanctioned Projects Sanctioned projects are known as urban interventions and are often led by those in the professional field: planners, designers, artists, transport engineers, municipal departments, community activists, NGO, or people from private firms (Walter, 2013:8; Rasmussen, 2012, Lydon, 2012). In the overall scope of tactical urbanism projects, urban interventions account for 85% (Tostes, 2013:6). There are 5 key elements to every urban intervention: 1. Interventions led by professionals 2. Interventions aim to encourage open dialogue about the built environment 3. Interventions strive to address social issues through urban design 4. Interventions aim to engage local citizens 5. Interventions are small scale (relative to the planning process) and temporary (Walter, 2012)
Jackson Heights is a community in Brooklyn New York. The aim of the project by the Department of Transportation (DOT) was to create a play street along 78th street which would allow residents from nearby Travis park to spill onto the street every Sunday for 20 weeks (Radywyl and Biggs: 2012:164). The trial was a success but the local council rejected the proposal for permanent fixture due to claims of crime and a lack of parking; this prompted 200 community members to protest until the decision was overturned (ibid). Jackson Heights is an example of an urban intervention that involved a large group of people to participate, follow regulation, seek permission from the municipality, work with the transportation department to organize a street closure, while ensuring all news was forwarded to the rest of the community.
For urban interventionists, the goal is to disrupt the built environment by addressing an issue in the public space and inspiring positive social output (Walter, 2012:8). When comparing urban interventions to DIY urbanism projects, the scale of sanctioned projects are larger as they aim to involve a variety of groups including churches, food banks, nonprofits, or community associations who are more likely to be involved if a project is sanctioned (Coombs, 2012:64). At a larger scale, urban interventions also require more community support, commitment of time and patience, as well as organization.
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Tactical Urbanism in the Planning Framework Where planning designs the framework for a place, urban design is the creation of a place. Without urban planning there would not be urban design, as planning encompasses all the policies and procedures that make a place. Urban design uses planning as a guideline for extending its creativity.
1. Place for People 2. Connected and Permeable 3. Place of variety: density, mixed use, etc. 4. Sustainable, resilient, and robust 5. Distinctive Places: local quality
Planning documents are created to benefit the welfare of the wider community and to exhibit the intentions of those who are directly affected. They are created through a collaboration of professionals from various backgrounds such as transport engineering, law, planning, and education. A planning document travels through a system of check and balance where community members and other professional bodies review them to ensure that plans fit within regional or national regulations prior to implementation. Urban design is a subset of planning, where the focus is centered on creating successful places through high quality design. Within Urban Design, successful places consist of the following five interdependent characteristics:
(Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:7) These five characteristics work together as a system to create a “sense of place” or if speaking in the language of systems, “wholeness” (Alberti, 2009; Alberti &Marzluff, 2004; Marzluff et al., 2008: Roggema, 2009; Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:160). A system is a series of elements that interact and depend on one another rather than working individually (Hughes and Mann, 2007:331). In the context of the built environment, if these five characteristics are engaged then the system is functioning and sense of place is created, however; if one of these characteristics is missing, the system malfunctions and sense of place fails to be achieved.
Figure 7: Successful Places Adapted from Tiesdell and Adams, 2012 15
Planning has always been in a stage of evolution, changing for the good and the bad. Traditionally small towns were planned organically which meant that growth was determined by small incremental changes (Tiesdell and Adams, 2012:22); this is known as sequential planning or organic growth. Mixed use, a variety of density, and good connectivity were also encouraged in sequential planning. Sequential planning also corresponds with the evolution and growth of the city because through incremental steps, it is always changing and adapting to meet the local context. This is often the reason why sequential planning has the ability to create better places (Killing architects, 2012:37), however, our past decades have been dominated by Hardwire planning. Hardwire planning or mono-functional development correlates with the 20th century idea of the permanent city (ibid). Where sequential planning is the process of trying something small in order to attain lasting change, hardwire planning implements one idea to attain the same result (Lydon, 2012:22). Mono-functional development does not concern itself with trial and error rather it believes that a fix is a fix even if it is not correct for the context it is being applied to. The idea behind our current model of planning is to give each space (zone/district) a function, for example in suburbia, the primary function is housing. Although zoning/districts ensure all human needs are met, sense of place is never achieved. Similar to hardwired planning is the idea of cataclysmic growth. This term was introduced by Jane Jacobs in her book, “Death and Life of Great American Cities” and refers to the idea of placing large and quick investment into an area with the hope of attaining an equally quick change (1961:292). At its extreme scale, cataclysmic money
is seen in cities that are soon to host major international events, for example the Olympics or major conferences. Cities, in an effort to attract more investment will invest in infrastructure to hide or repair what is currently an eyesore, however, cataclysmic decisions are not always beneficial. Under a more relatable scale, cataclysmic money can be seen in the construction of cookie cutter communities where the aim is not to create a sense of place but to build and sell as many houses as quickly as possible. This formula of quick investment has proven successful as evidence by the numerous carbon copy communities found all over the world. Despite this, the kind of money a city needs to grow in a positive manner is gradual money, that of which is able to capitalize, build, and supplement on what is existing and what works (Jacobs, 1961:294). Gradual money allows one to analyse the problem, identify the issue and solve the problem over time by seeing what is working or not, rather than gambling on one solution that may prove detrimental. “Too often, developers focus only on the end state and then if economic forces get in the way, they drop the project. If instead you view a project as a series of phases, say, a 15 year period, each smaller phase will work a little harder towards achieving a larger goal” (Bishop; Greco, 2012:3). In the past several decades, mono-functional development has been one of the more domineering mentalities but sequential planning is beginning to resurface through tactical urbanism. The realization in the importance of a sense of place has shifted the process back to historical thinking. Tactical urbanism is part of the sequential vision for planning because it too follows the same system of trial and error. 16
Despite helping to create a sense of place, it is important to note that tactical urbanism interventions cannot fix a broken system; rather it is the catalyst towards finding the solution.
hard, and change is a learnt behaviour.
The tactical urbanism feedback loop of trial and error mirrors that of the proven effectiveness of sequential planning as it also applies the theory of small incremental changes. Within the tactical urbanism cycle, one is continually building ideas, measuring the project, and learning from the data in order to improve the outcome (Lydon, 2012:2). Jane Jacobs, Mike Lydon and many other urbanists have campaigned for small incremental changes over large-scale change because as a theory it has proven itself as an effective method to achieve permanency within the planning framework. The trial and error process understands the nature of change: change is experiential, change is
Pine and Gilmore (1999:Radywl & Biggs, 2012, 162) argue that today’s society is highly literate and are more appreciative of experimental events based activities, resulting in what they call “experience” economy. By allowing the public to experience the potential change, the concept challenges their imagination, and encourages open dialogue (Khawarsad, 2012:Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:162).
1. Change is experiential
2. Change is hard According to Daniel Latorre, an Occupy Wall Street activist, temporary measures such as tactical urbanism allow people to “get used to the idea” and gradually adjust to the disruption in their routine and/ or environment. He elaborates that often it is difficult for people to understand the premise behind an idea without first slowly experiencing it (Latorre, 2012:Radywyl & Biggs, 2012:163). 3. Change is a learnt behaviour
Figure 8: Tactical Urbanism Process Adapted from Lydon, Youtube Video, 2013
Permanent change is not an instant reaction. Change is an invasion to one’s routine. Change as a learnt behaviour is about gradually adapting to the invasion until it too becomes routine. The act of adapting to the circumstances or the change is what De Certeau calls “bricolage” (McFarlane, 2011:18). Throughout the ages, change as a form of learnt behaviour was a necessary element for human settlement (Lydon et al., 2012:5). Human settlements through time have depended 17
on incremental change and self-directed action to increase social capital, commercial opportunity, or urban livability (ibid). In cities in the developed world, this is the only way for residents to progress (ibid). Within the planning framework, these three reasons are particularly important on the route from temporary to permanency as they result in a change of perception. Change of perception is the main step that determines if tactical urbanism is to ever attain long term or permanent change and is particularly relevant in the public realm. While the tactic may take time to adjust and flow through the regulatory system, it is not the system itself that requires change but those who regulate it. According to Reynolds (2011;(Bishops & Williams, 2012:Brown, 2005:4)), change is hard to implement within government agencies, as there is a tendency to follow familiar practices. If gradually over time short-term tactics are able to change behaviour and perception, then permanent change is more likely to occur.
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History The idea of tactical urbanism has been traced back to 16th century Paris, France and les Bourquinistes (Lydon et al., 2012:5), however, there may be cases where it has extended even further. The Bourquinistes were unsanctioned booksellers who set up stalls along the Seine River and whose influence had such an impact the site is now considered a UNESCO world heritage site (ibid). Less recognized examples of tactical urbanism include Subbotniks in Moscow (Malhotra, 2012). Subbotnik in the Russian language translates to “Saturday” and is a part of a volunteer tradition of improving cities and neighbourhoods in Moscow (ibid). The purpose of a Subbotnik is to clean up the neighbourhood through community driven efforts, whether that is by clearing garbage off the streets, de-weeding, planting gardens, or fixing crumbling infrastructure (ibid). The first Subbotnik was organized by the Bolsheviks on April 12,1919, the following year a county wide Subbotnik was organized on May 1, 1920, in which over 425 000 people in Moscow, including then president Vladmir Llyich Lenin, cleared away the rubble in the territory of Kremlin (ibid). Under different names, tactical urbanism has been found worldwide and for many centuries but we argue there are three progressions in history that have grossly influenced the tactical urbanism movement: the Situationists, neoliberalism, and globalization. The origin of the tactical urbanism movement is strongly correlated with the growth of public participation. Public participation is the involvement of individuals and communities. Individuals and communities consist of those who will be affected by or have an interest in the decisionmaking and/or implementation processes, and who will influence the final outcome achieved. In “Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning”, Henry Sanoff lists three main purposes of public
participation, these are: 1. To involve the public in the decision-making process resulting in increased trust and confidence in local organization. Through this, the public is more likely to accept future decisions and plans and respect the process when faced with future decision-making situations. 2. To improve plans, decisions, and implementation by allowing the public to voice their opinions during the design and decision-making processes. 3. To bring together people who share common goals in order to promote a greater sense of community. (Sanoff, 2000:10) The idea of public participation in space or “site interventions” has roots with the Situationists (Douglas, 2012: 45). The Situationists were a group of Parisian artists (Situationist International 1957-1972) who opposed capitalism (Matthews, 2005: 6). Interested in urban planning and architecture, the group would note their observations and experiences of the city to form what is known as psychogeography (Matthews, 2005:6). Psychogeography studies the influence of space on behavior (of individuals) (Matthews, 2005: 6). “Unitary Urbanism” was written by the Situationists and was particularly influential in the early days of the tactical urbanism movement as it describes the importance of interactive spaces and the integration of art into everyday life (Tostes, 2013: 3). Creating such spaces is based off the concept of community capital, which is both inexpensive but also key to any tactical urbanism project. 19
Community capital is the power of ideas, time, and commitment through the collection and collaboration of people in place. For municipalities, this is a relatively inexpensive resource as it is based on the idea of people who are interested in shaping and fixing the environment in a creative and innovative manner. Sanoff suggests that the concept of participation in building and planning was present in preliterate societies, but the idea of involving community members in social development, or community participation, is more recent, having been influenced by 1950s-1960s third world development movement's, Western social work, and 1960s grassroots movements (Sanoff, 2000: 1). These were all under the influence of the Situationists International (SI) (Douglas, 2012:44). During the time of grassroots movements and community radicalism in North America, people began to demand change and improvements through political action and demonstration. These urban movements existed for a number of causes including women’s rights, poverty, black power, tenants rights, and disruption caused by urban renewal projects. A number of inner-city organizations were founded during this time, and were funded by a federal program called “The Community Action Program” (Sanoff, 2000: 2). Although a large number of social issues raised during the community organization movement failed to see extensive change, mostly due to the over diversity of issues and lack of common goals; this period was monumental in the development of future neighbourhood movements (Sanoff, 2000:2) and resulted in many projects that are the foundation of tactical urbanism such as guerilla gardening, public seating, repurposing infrastructure, and public art (Douglas, 2012:45).
Neoliberalization is the second progression in the tactical urbanism movement and the beginning of tactical urbanism as we recognize it today (Leland, 2004; Douglas, 2012:9). Neoliberalism is a theory associated with state deregulation, commodification of the city, and the market-based regulatory system (Douglas, 2012: 46) During the 1960s and early 1970s, the world was experiencing economic and political restructuring which resulted in the ideas of de-industrialization, manufacturing, and suburbanization (ibid). The impact of this progression to urban spaces was spatial unevenness where one part of the city boomed from the spoils of capital, while other parts experienced massive neglect, resulting in a “help yourself” or DIY city (ibid). The Doit-Yourself movement was the origin of unsanctioned projects that were reacting to the lack of action from higher bodies and were inspired by themselves to make the difference. DIY encouraged local residents to spontaneously develop projects that challenged the issues of neglect, abandonment, and commodification caused by neoliberalism (ibid). Community participation in this stage of progression was inspired by Henri Lefebvre ideas of “right to the city” as well as the “production of space” (Purcell, 2002:102) The basic premise behind the “right to the city” is shifting the power of control on the production of space from the centralized, state, or capital form towards urban inhabitants (ibid). Lefebvre believed that those who inhabit the city should have decision making control or the term Lefebvre uses “enfranchisement” over the production of urban space as it is they who contribute to the “urban lived experience” or lived space1 (Lefebvre, 1991; Purcell, 2002:102). Thus as urban inhabitants contributing to the experience of space by living out a daily routine, they must therefore have claim to the right of the city (Purcell, 2002). “The right of the city is designed to further the Lefebvre had three ideas of what space was conceived of: perceived, conceived, and lived (Purcell, 2002:102). According to Lefebvre, lived space is a combination of both conceived and perceived space, it is how a person experiences a space in their everyday lives tied with the idea of social life and physical space. 1
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interests of the whole society and first of all those who inhabit” (Lefebvre, 1996; Purcell, 2002:102). Lefebvre called those who had the right to the city, “citadins” over the political term of “citazins”. By using this term, he was implying that those who had the right to the city did so not due to their nationality, ethnicity or birth as those imply political connotations but because they had experienced and contributed to the experience of the space within the city (ibid). The right to the city gave “citadins” two principal rights: the right to participation and the right to appropriation (Purcell, 2002:106). The right to participation meant that the citadins should be involved in any decision that affected the production of the urban space while the right to appropriation gave the right to inhabitants to use and occupy urban space (ibid). Appropriation also gives the right to alter or produce the space so that it met the needs of its inhabitants (Purcell, 2002:103). Right to the city is against what many capitalist ventures aim to achieve: central control and private property. Instead, the right to the city is about collective decision-making by its users and shared space (ibid). Public participation today is more “community driven” than it was during the Grassroots period, with residents being involved in both the planning and implementation processes (Sanoff, 2000: 6); seen in various examples of tactical urbanism. Sanoff states that community building today is a “holistic approach that focuses its efforts on people” and “encourages residents to take control of their destiny and that of their communities” (Sanoff, 2000: 7). The community building process should take place at the neighbourhood level, involving the union of traditional top-down approaches with bottom-up community driven
efforts in order to form partnerships between community members, local organizations and management (Sanoff, 2000: 7). A collaborated effort between the top down and bottom up approach ensures that values, goals, and outcomes of the project are shared. This technique is encouraged in the third progression that has influenced the tactical urbanism movement: globalization. Globalization is defined as the exchange of ideas across boundaries, which have influenced our culture, language, economic, or political ideals (National Geographic, 2013). While globalization has been around since Alexander the Great and his conquest of the Silk Road, its increasing influence has been attributed to new technologies such as air travel and most importantly, the Internet (ibid). As the Internet has progressed, so too has the platform for sharing ideas and inspiring others through tools such as Facebook, Twitter, or blogging (Lydon, 2012). In a matter of minutes, an event can be posted and shared to anyone interested around the world that can then replicate it. The Internet has been particularly influential in establishing pattern cities and spreading the tactical urbanism movement. Pattern cities are cities that are the first to “adapt to an idea at a meaningful time and scale” (Patterncities, 2013), where meaningful time refers to a solution to a problem that the world is facing at that period and scale is the range of which a project has made an impact (Patterncities.com, 2013). As “purveyors of influence” they are not the first to implement the idea but rather the timing, scale, and success of their movement influenced others to share or mimic the idea (Patterncities, 2013).
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Bogota is a Pattern city, which gained its popularity with “Ciclovia”, an event aimed at closing streets for the benefit of alternative uses; this is an example of a purveyor of influence. Bogota’s first Ciclovia event occurred in 1976, however; the first city to implement the idea was in Seattle in 1965 (patterncities, 2013). The popularity of the vehicle and the growing dependence on the automobile along with poor infrastructure for anything but the vehicle, rising consumption of oil and emission of gases into the environment from post-World War II to present day were probably the catalyst in the popularity of Ciclovia ten years later (Newman and Kentworthy, 1999: 31). Ciclovia provided an alternative to the world’s auto dependence and encouraged alternative use of the streets. Its mantra as a movement is not to abolish the vehicle but like the concept introduced by Jane Jacobs of “attrition by cities not in cities” (1961: 200). The movement serves to encourage vehicles to share the street. Due to the meaningful time and implementation of Ciclovia and the use of the Internet, the movement can be found around the world under different names such as “Bow River Flow” in Calgary, Canada to Waiheke in New Zealand (Lydon, 2012). The spread of tactical urbanism cannot only be attributed to the Internet. The Internet is only a tool; the rise in tactical urbanism projects is attributed to a change in perception and necessity (Brass and Koziell, 1994:17).
The rise in tactical urbanism represents a shift in how people perceive their environment both physically and politically (Douglas, 2011:15). The need to re-purpose or re-imagine urban space signifies a willingness by people to take their ideals of the cityscape and implement them themselves so the space begins to work for them (Douglas, 2011: 15). Fighting for a lifestyle has always been a part of counter culture (Camilla Berens: Brass and Koziell, 1994:13); many of the basic services and rights such as the right to vote, social housing or health care were achieved through grassroots fights (Brass and Koziell, 1994: 16). Changing perception and taking action in this era is the realization that the act of "taking responsibility of their lifestyles" is in fact a powerful political action that informs the governments of their concerns while empowering themselves and influencing others (Brass and Kozeill, 1994:10-19). Today's economic climate is also less privileged than the previous decades, the need to take action is not so much a protest rather than a display of what the community wants. Activists of the grassroots movement in the 1960s were well-educated citizens from the middle class (Brass and Koziell, 1994:17). Today's generation has limited resources due to the Great Recession (2009), thus necessity as a means for action is directly correlated to capital. The Great Recession was caused by the burst of the housing bubble, which affected institutions, and firms who had invested in the real estate market and subsequently the world economy. The impact of the Great Recession was also felt within the planning sector as local municipalities have smaller budgets to invest and repair their built environment (Lydon et al., 2012:3). Tactical urbanism is marketed towards cities as the quicker, inexpensive approach to urban revitalization (Ho, 2013), and as an
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alternative to the expensive methods of hardwired planning. As an experiential method, Tactics can test the degree of success before a permanent feature is built (Lydon et al., 2012: 2), be malleable to the context and the timeline to allow room for improvement, while having little financial or political risk (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:168). “The great recession slowed the North American growth machine forcing citizens, city departments, and developers to take matters into their own hands, get creative with project funding and concentrate on smaller, more incremental efforts� (Lydon, 2012:3). As a result of the Great Recession, tactical urbanism today is the collaboration between the formal and informal community and the top down and bottom up approach2. This has inspired interventions such as street improvements, street art installations, and development strategies (Douglas, 2012:48).
This collaboration has developed a generation of tactical urbanists that can be described as culturally mixed and modest (Brass and Koziell, 1994:17). 2
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Planning Education and Tactical Urbanism “A Master Plan is a comprehensive long range plan intended to guide growth and development of a community or region. It includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for the community’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use. It is based on public input, surveys, planning initiatives, existing development, physical characteristics, and social and economic conditions� (Antrim County, 2007). Master planning has traditionally been used to communicate long-term goals. As a theory, this strategy is effective in communicating visionary ideas and gathering interest or hope but as a realistic process, most master plans are never implemented due to time, costs, political or financial factors, or the changing landscape in which previous goals and vision become redundant. In schools, master planning should not be taught to focus only on medium and long-term actions and goals. Short-term initiatives should also be integrated into master planning education. Having short-term goals in master planning, possibly in the form of tactical urbanism, allows for more immediate results to be seen. To the community that the master plan addresses, short-term projects are used as a trial and error process as well as intermediary project that buy time until the long-term goal is implemented. In addition these short term projects can raise the standard of the space, build the relationships needed for the future long term projects (Killing architects, 2012: 4), push the imagination of users by allowing them to experience what the space might be like if permanent features are put in place, and act as a tool to educating people about the planning process (Killing architects, 2012: 46).
Meanwhile London is a unique project that puts vacant land or property to good use through temporary projects (Killing Architects, 2012: 33). Sites of interest are vacant commercial spaces on the high street or empty sites within master plans (ibid). Short to medium term projects are known as interims (ibid). Interims are beneficial as they draw attention to an area, prevent vandalism, and improve the viability of the site by serving as a free source of promotion to those interested in occupying the land permanently (ibid). They can also act as a catalyst to the construction of community (ibid). Examples of projects include portacabins as a temporary nursery or an art attack on a piece of land that had been abandoned and cordoned off due the recession and is now a community garden and which also serves to improve the connectivity in the town (Killing architects, 2012: 34).
In an educational setting, tactical urbanism should be incorporated into the learning process as it mirrors the interaction students would encounter during a long term visionary planning project and also allows students to better understand the community they are focusing on. It is also a platform for students to show their ideas and receive feedback. Since tactical urbanism projects are short-term they are able to be implemented fully within the span of an average educational experience, meaning students are able to see the impact their work can have on a space; it is difficult to gauge the success of long term plans of students as they will likely never be implemented.
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Analysis
Strategies
Concept Plan
Master Plan
+
Short-term
Long-term Drawing the existing city History & Stories Planning Framework Experiencing the study area MCA
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
Density New Roads Nodes
Important to the short tactical urbanism process is the collaboration with other organizations. In an education setting, a project should never be implemented on its own but should always include the participation of community members and other interested parties; this mirrors the relationships that would be established during a project of a professional setting. Organizations that have established links with the community or town may be able to provide students with beneficial contacts, as well as previous studies of the area, that could further their project and enrich the learning experience; for example Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment's Four Towns Report was used by the Strathclyde Urban Design Studies Unit. In addition, an organization
Tactical Urbanism
25 Year Master Plans Special Places Local Node Traffic Calming
Small interventions for long-term change
Figure 9: Master Plan Education with a direct link to the community can provide a greater sense of legitimacy for students within the town as a relationship of trust has likely been established between the two parties (organization and town).
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Actors and Relationships Communities often become involved in development and planning process when they perceive that there is an issue that needs to be addressed and without their influence, the situation might not be addressed by anyone else. Often those living within the community are the most insightful when determining the issues that need to be addressed. This reiterates the theory introduced by Henri Lefebvre. However, it is not uncommon practice for professionals to diagnose and prescribe solutions which results in their professional priorities overshadowing those of the community (Fung, 2001: 616). Sanoff states that, “resident-driven initiatives have a greater chance of success because residents are more aware of the realities of their own environments than outside professionals� (Sanoff, 2000: 7). Public participation is at the root of the democratic system. As a practice, it enables community members to become actively involved and responsible for their own development and results in a greater investment of community responsibility into their collective future (Aref, 2011: 2). Public participation in tactical urbanism also exists in a number of forms through varying levels of engagement. Sanoff discusses two levels of community participation previously identified by Deshler and Stock in 1985; these are pseudoparticipation and genuine participation (Sanoff, 2000: 8). Pseudoparticipation exists when the public is involved in a project; however, the control of such projects still rests in the hands of administrators. The public plays a small role in this type of participation by often being called upon to listen to what has been planned for them, resulting in a distinct lack of actual community participation (ibid). There are two categories that fall under pseudoparticipation: domestication, which includes informing, therapy and manipulation, and assistencialism, which involves placation and
consultation (ibid). These are the extreme cases where the public is given no degree of control. Tactical Urbanism projects would never be completed exclusively by a professional authority; instead an acceptable balance of community and professional/outsider support must be achieved when a partnership is present to prevent pseudoparticipation. Genuine participation exists when the public is actually given the power to have more control over what happens in their community (ibid). The two categories found under genuine participation are cooperation, which involves partnership and delegation of power, and citizen control; however, unlike pseudoparticipation, the public is given a sense of empowerment (ibid). One can see that in terms of the level community empowerment, pseudoparticipation and genuine participation are not equal. Some may not even consider pseudoparticipation to be community participation as it lacks many of the defining characteristics and benefits of genuine participation. People typically only participate in issues when the result may affect them. This means that the participant groups for any public participation project can vary in size and composition (Sanoff, 2000: 18). The level of participation individuals are willing to take can vary on a case-tocase basis, as people participate based on their level of interest and expertise. Also, some people may choose to participate at different stages of the process (ibid). In 2011, Carroli and Armstrong completed a survey in Queensland, Australia to identify the reasons for why people choose to participate in public consultations. The most commonly identified reason for public participation (28.6%) was to protect community interests (Carroli and Armstrong, 2011). This demonstrates that people have a desire to help influence what happens in their community. Despite the fact that the general public may not be involved 26
in the public participation process, it is important to keep the public informed with regards to what actions are taking place. There may be individuals who are willing but unable to participate or are considering participating and would appreciate being notified of any new developments. Transparency is a key aspect of any tactical urbanism project, without it objectives may become unclear or situations of trust compromised. In more than one instance, authors have compared typologies of community participation using a ladder metaphor. Peerapun discusses Arnstien’s (1969) typology of eight levels of participation as being a ladder formation where each rung indicates the level in which the citizens influence the end product (Peerapun, 2012: 245) (Figure 10). Manipulation and therapy form the bottom two rungs of the ladder, informing, consultation and placation form the middle three rungs of the ladder, and partnership, delegated power and citizen control form the top three rungs (ibid). The bottom three rungs that Peerapun describes fall under the pseudoparticipation typology characterized by a distinct lack of actual community engagement (ibid). The middle three rungs are described as “tokenism,” as they are still relatively indicative of pseudoengagement, yet still involve a small degree of community engagement, though only slightly (ibid). The top three rungs described by Peerapun are examples of genuine participation, where the community is actually given a sense of empowerment.
More Control Citizen Control Delagated Power Partnership Placation Consultation Informing Therapy
Empowerment Collaboration Involvement Consultation Informing
Manipulation
Less Control
Levels of Public Participation Figure 10: Levels of Participation (Adapted from Peerapun, 2012 and IAPP, 2013)
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The eight levels of participation can be further simplified into five levels of participation, which were developed by the International Association of Public Participation (Figure 10). These are, ranging from lowest to highest in terms of level of participation, informing, consultation, involvement, collaboration and empowerment (IAPP, 2013). Each of these five levels of participation has a different set of goals, promises and techniques to consider. Informing has a goal of providing the public with the information needed to aid them in better understanding the problems, opportunities, and alternatives solutions that may exist (ibid). The promise of this type of participation is to keep the public informed (ibid). Possible techniques for this form of community participation include fact sheets, web sites and open houses (ibid). Consultation has a goal of obtaining public feedback on decisions, analysis etc. (ibid). The promise of this form of public participation is to not only inform the public of decisions but to also consider and acknowledge any concerns the public may have during the decision-making process (ibid). Possible techniques for this level of public participation include focus groups and public meetings (ibid). Involvement has the goal of working with the public to ensure their apprehensions and goals are considered and understood throughout the entire process (ibid). The promise of this level of public participation is to work with the community to ensure their voice is heard and to provide feedback on how community members influenced the final decision (ibid). Possible techniques for this form of participation include workshops and deliberate polling (ibid). Collaboration has the goal of creating a partnership with the public, where they are given the opportunity to influence the decision-making process through all stages, including the development of solutions (ibid). The promise of this level of participation is to listen and take direct advice from the
public, leading to public recommendations having a large impact on the final decisions made (ibid). Techniques for this level of participation include consensus building, advisory committees and participatory decision making (ibid). The highest level of participation identified by the International Association for Public Participation is empowerment, which has a goal of placing all responsibility for final decision-making in the hands of the public (ibid). The promise of this level of participation is to cooperate with the decisions of the public (ibid). Possible techniques for this level of engagement include citizen juries, ballots and delegated decisions (ibid). The five levels of community participation previously mentioned all vary in how much control is actually given to the public. It is obvious that when the public is given more power, they are able to have a larger impact on the final decision and the eventual outcome. These various levels of public participation are discussed in the context of professional organizations, such as local government, facilitating various community projects, and are more geared towards instances where tactical urbanism projects are organized in a way that forms a partnership between community members and professionals/outsiders. Some tactical urbanism projects can be initiated solely by members of the community without any professional involvement at all; this would be an example of an unsanctioned project, previously discussed, whereas projects involving a partnership between public and professional denote sanctioned projects. There are a number of benefits that can be derived from public participation. They range from psychosocial benefits for the individuals involved in the process to those that affect the community as a whole. In “Assessing psycho-social effects of participatory landscape planning�, Corina Hoppner et al. identify the desired psychosocial 28
benefits of participation as being increased levels of trust, engagement and acceptance of planning projects; these feelings will often carry on into the future, which is beneficial for further community projects (2007: 204). They also state that participation can help to strengthen relationships between participants and create a greater sense of community. This is particularly helpful in a divided community with no strong uniting identity (Hoppner et al., 2007: 206) [i.e. Cumnock]. In Mapping the Outcomes of Citizen Engagement, Gaventa and Barrett analysed 100 case studies of public participation from all over the world, and were able to identify over 800 examples of outcomes of the process (Gaventa and Barrett, 2012: 2399). These outcomes were then simplified into four broad categories, containing both positive and negative outcomes. These four categories of community engagement outcomes are the construction of citizenship, the strengthening of practices of participation, the strengthening of responsive and accountable states, and the development of inclusive and cohesive societies (Gaventa and Barrett, 2012: 2399). Table 2 displays a sample of positive and negatives outcomes that fall under each broad category. Sanoff identifies better-maintained physical environments, greater public spirit, higher user satisfaction, and financial savings as benefits of public participation (Sanoff, 2000). When the public is involved in their community and the projects that influence it, they begin to feel a greater sense of community pride and ownership. This leads to higher levels of community sustainability, as these participants are more likely to help manage and maintain projects in the future, thus reducing the risk of vandalism or neglect, and minimizing the likelihood that money will need to be spent on replacements or repairs (Wates, 2000: 5).
Positive
Negative
Construction of citizenship - Increased civic and political knowledge - Greater sense of empowerment
- Reduced sense of agency - Reliance on intermediaries
Practices of citizen participation - Increased capacities for collective action - New forms of participation - Expansion of networks
- Token forms of participation - Lack of accountability in networks - New capacities used for negative
Responsive and accountable states - Greater access to resources - Enhanced government accountability - Rights better realized
- Denial of resources/services - Unwanted government response - Reprisals
Inclusive and cohesive societies - Reinforced social hierarchies - Inclusion of new actors and issues - Greater social interaction amongst groups - Exclusion - Increased conflict
Table 2: Outcomes of Public Participation (Adapted from Gaventa and Barrett, 2012)
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Since community members are more in-tune with their wants and needs, and have a greater knowledge of their surroundings, including them in the decision making process results in better decisions being made and more appropriate strategies being chosen. This results in not only the demands of the community being met, but also a more efficient use of resources as projects are less likely to fail if they are geared towards the communities’ wishes (ibid). The sense of empowerment given to participants through the public participation process helps to build the confidence and skills needed for them to enable themselves and each other to respond to other challenges in the future (ibid). This means that in the future, communities will begin to identify and rectify issues on their own, reducing the influence and resources needed from administrative professionals (ibid). These professionals also stand to benefit from public participation, as working with the public will help them obtain greater insight into the wants and needs of the communities they are involved with (ibid). This will allow them to make more informed and effective decisions in the future (ibid).
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Implementation It is not always guaranteed that a public participation process for tactical urbanism will result in a successful outcome, however, by examining the literature there are a number of steps to guide community participation towards success. Before considering all the elements that should come together in order to have successful public participation, we will explore the steps required for successful tactical urbanism as public participation is encompassed within a tactical urbanism project. Mike Lydon suggests four key steps to successful tactical urbanism, they are: disrupt, iterate in increments, measure and learn, and integrate findings (2013). Before following these steps, one has to successfully identify the key characteristics for the project: vision, context, agility, value, and community. 1. Disrupt The vision for the area is introduced in the disrupt stage. At this stage, what would be considered routine is disrupted by a small change to the current built environment. Community and the production of social capital are also introduced at this stage and will continue throughout the cycle. 2. Iterate in Increments This vision is adjusted to reflect the local context. The iteration stage is about introducing small changes to allow for adaption (change is hard, learnt, experiential). At this stage, some of the goals may or may not have been achieved depending on the circumstance of the project. 3. Measures and Learn During the measure and learn stage, the process continues to be
Place for people/Connected & Permeable/Places of Variety/ Sustainable & Resilient/ Distinctive Places
Figure 11: Path to permanency diagram, Adapted from Lydon,2013
refined based on both trial and error and the iteration that occurred in the previous step. The process of iterating and measuring and learning continues until a satisfactory result is achieved. 4. Integrate Findings If a satisfactory result is achieved from the 'measure and learn' process, then one integrates the findings into a more permanent feature. Integrating findings is defined as the completion of the cycle, 31
where the link to creating a successful place is re-established. Mike Lydon’s process of tactical urbanism is described as step-bystep cycle that continuously feeds back into itself. Public participation is a large part of tactical urbanism, and can take place throughout all four of the tactical urbanism steps discussed above. Public participation can also be thought of in stages, from pre-engagement, decisionmaking, implementation and post project. Sanoff suggests the following questions be asked during the pre-engagement stage when planning a community participation program: 1. Who are the parties to be involved in participation? 2. What is the desired outcome of the public participation? 3. Where do we wish the participation road to lead? 4. How should people be involved? 5. When in the planning process is participation needed or desired? (Sanoff, 2000: 9) These questions are the simple who, what, when, where, why, and when, that are often overlooked (ibid) Asking these simple questions can help the process to run smoothly throughout implementation. These pre-engagement questions are more geared towards genuine participation projects characterized by cooperation between various groups. It is particularly important to determine the desired objectives of public participation at the beginning of the process (Sanoff, 2000:11). Examples of potential public participation objectives include: identifying attitudes, generating ideas, reviewing a proposal and gauging public opinion (ibid). If public participation objectives are not identified at the beginning of the process, then differences in personal objectives can
cause participants to feel unfulfilled and disappointed by the achieved outcomes (ibid). Sanoff suggests that although the following steps will not ensure that a public participation process is successful, they will help to minimize the potential of failure. These steps identified by Sanoff are as follows: 1. Identify which individuals or groups should be involved 2. Decide when participants should become involved 3. Clearly communicate the participation objectives to all participants 4. Identify any alternative participation methods 5. Implement the chosen participation activities 6. Evaluate the implemented methods (Sanoff, 2000:11-12) Sanoff states that an important outcome of public participation is the individual learning that occurs when the public develops a greater sense of awareness of the problems that exist. To maximize the level of learning, it is important that the process remains transparent, communicative, and open (Sanoff, 2000: 7). The Scottish Government recognizes the importance of public participation and even goes as far as to state that such engagement is essential to the operation of the government (Scottish Community Development Centre, 2007: 7). The Scottish Government document, “Better Community Engagement- A framework for Learning,� highlights key elements that should be considered when implementing public participation in Scotland. The Scottish Government also discusses public participation in the context of a partnership between the government, other professional groups, community groups and members of the 32
general public, and therefore these elements for successful public participation are geared towards instances with such partnerships. “To develop, influence and promote policy and implement practice which engages communities as partners in change� (Scottish Community Development Centre, 2007: 12), is identified as being the key purpose of public participation. The nine elements identified to achieve this purpose are divided into two categories, foundation elements and developmental elements. The following are the foundation elements (See Figure 12): 1. Recognizing diversity and designing inclusive ways of working 2. Enabling communities to access resources and deliver services 3. Working in partnership with agencies, organization and communities 4. Involving communities in planning services (ibid); Developmental elements: 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Negotiating with communities and partners Addressing conflicts and supporting change Using participatory evaluation Being a leader and encouraging leadership Supporting people and organizations to learn together (ibid)
Foundation Elements Enabling Communities
Partnerships
Involving Communities
Recognising Diversity
Elements for Successful Public Participation Supporting Learning
Negotiating
Addressing Conflicts
Participatory Evaluation
Encouraging Leadership
Developmental Elements Figure 12: Foundation and Developmental Elements (Adapted from Scottish Community Development Centre, 2007)
The foundation elements are the building blocks to any community engagement practices while the developmental elements are the practices that support these foundations (Scottish Community Development Centre, 2007: 11). Although these elements are geared towards public participation within the context of government situations, they can be adapted for other situations of public participation that 33
may occur in tactical urbanism, as the basic ideologies remain the same. There are a few barriers of public participation that one should be aware of before starting a participation program. Lack of consultation and public understanding due to over technical correspondence, lack of communication between the government and local people, and lack of transparency are all barriers that can be avoided through proper implementation of the public participation process (Kokonge, 1996: 313). Lack of public interest in participation is another potential barrier. People may be willing but unable to participate due to issues such as language barriers or disability. People may also be genuinely uninterested in participating because of a number of reasons including lack of time, disinterest and feeling that there will be no personal gain or the assumption that someone else will handle it. One final barrier to note is the fact that the public and the government may have completely different goals and objectives, which can lead to misunderstandings and some tension when trying to formulate strategies. Although the public should have the final say in what happens to their community, there may be times when it is not legally or financially feasible to follow the strategy chosen by the public or if it will adversely affect another group.
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Methods Our yearlong occupancy in Cumnock was not only an educational experience for us as students but for the town residents and officials as well. As students, our role consisted of listening and working with the town to achieve common goals while introducing new trends in the field of urban design such as tactical urbanism. Unfortunately the term tactical urbanism is jargon that is only familiar amongst those in the profession, to others it is a daunting, uninviting, and confusing term. The first task was to introduce the concept as well as break down any connotations that might have been previously conceived.
Outcome of Meetings The following notes record the general outcomes attained through the meetings detailed above. Tactical urbanism as an idea elicited excitement in the community, as it was a fresh concept with positive benefits. 1. Supported the idea of tactical urbanism but wanted more community involvement in creating and designing the project 2. Internal conflict between different organizations
To create dialogue, a number of meetings were held with members of the community to introduce and discuss tactical urbanism. Attendance was average and ranged from local stakeholders, and councilmen to community members. Tactical urbanism was explained as a shortterm project that would be done in collaboration with members of the community. We also hoped to focus on projects in the town centre, as it was the area most in need of a change. It was also strongly emphasized that while the projects would go on regardless, its impact and legacy would be redundant without strong community support and involvement.
3. Majority of the meetings were attended by local authorities who worked or lived outside Cumnock in neighbouring cities such as Kilmarknock rather than local town members 4. Many had suggestions on projects that they would like to see such as guerilla gardening, repainting shops, or installing awnings on shops in the town centre. 5. Concerns forwarded included vandalism, maintenance, and subject content
6. Lots of support and enthusiasm from local community groups
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Table 3: Summary of Meetings
Meeting
Location
Date
Attendance
Comments
Scoping Workshop
Dumfries House East Ayrshire, UK
16th October 2012
Prince’s Foundation EAC (Councilors and Officers) Cumnock Community Council Other Stakeholders
This workshop served as an introduction to Cumnock, providing background and context as well as initial introduction to local stakeholders.Tactical urbanism was introduced as part of the UD studio year curriculum.
MIR
EAC Offices, Cumnock, UK
5th December 2013
Prince’s Foundation EAC (Councilors and Officers) Members of the Public
This meeting was not specific to tactical urbanism, however, the topic was discussed and various potential local stakeholders expressed an interest in some of the projects outlined in the tactical urbanism booked produced by the Urban Design Studio.
Gate Keeper’s Meeting
Council Offices Cumnock, UK
27th March 2013
EAC councilors YIP World CREATE Glaisnock Shopping Centre Cumnock Community
Overal, general consensus was achieved that supported tactical urbanism projects. The only reservation was for more community input.
Prince’s Foundation EAC Members of the Public Local Clubs
Overall positive feedback was given especially when it pertained to addressing a problem area that they had identified themselves. This meeting was attended more heavily by key groups of the community such as local school or members of the public, groups were keen for summer projects. Concerns with vandalism, subject content, and maintenance were also discussed.
Town Hall 1 &2 Cumnock Town 1st May 2013 *Future Cumnock Hall, Consultation Event Cumnock, UK
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Communicating to the Public A variety of methods were used to communicate with the public our ideas for tactical urbanism ranging from direct methods to indirect methods using gatekeepers. Using a variety of means ensured the information was communicated to a variety of individuals. Examples of the methods used are as follows: • Gatekeepers (key players in the community) CREATE, Yip World, CARS, Cumnock Juniors, Cumnock Academy, East Ayrshire Council, Prince’s Foundation • Cumnock Chronicle (local newspaper) • Twitter (Internet) • Facebook (Internet) • Flyers (local distribution)
Procurement Due to the generosity and support for the Prince’s Foundation, each project was given £250 for supplies. The community, including funding from Cumnock Juniors Football Club and Auchinleck Tesco provided further support.
Figure 13: Communication to the Public’s source: authors
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PROJECT 1: MURAL Facts Dimensions:36.7m x 1.95m Materials: Masonry Use: Outdoor Bleachers
Previous Mural Source:BBC
View of Stands
Cumnock, East Ayrshire, UK
View of Stands
Barshare
Cumnock Juniors Mural
Current State
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Project 1: Mural Partners: Cumnock Juniors Football Club, Prince's Foundation, Cumnock Academy What: An outdoor mural celebrating the centennial year for the local football club. Why: The local football club acts as an ambassador to neighbouring towns, provides a source of identity, as well as a source of entertainment for the town. Since its formation in 1912, the local football club has been an active member of the community by supporting events, hosting activities, and being involved where needed. The football club is a focal point and integral hub for the Cumnock community, one that transcends age and neighbourhood divisions. Aim of the Project • To repair the built environment and demonstrate the impact of such an action to the surrounding environment • To instill a sense of pride into children for the town and the club by allowing them to take ownership of the wall
Figure 14: Untouched Wall at Cumnock Juniors source: authors
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Living Our Dreams and Creating Our Future Mural At a local recreation centre playground, volunteers and members of the North Philadelphia neighourhood painted a mural. Led by a volunteer named Teyona Jackson, artist Nile Livingston, and a group of girls known as the P.I.N.K ladies, they set out to first understand and built rapport with the neighbouhood, this would ensure the mural’s success. Through educational workshops, meetings at the community centre and social networking, community discussion and interaction, a consensus was reached on the theme of the mural. The agreed upon theme was of children having fun, and feeling safe while a small tribute to local artist Jill Scott was also included. Over 14 weeks, a plethora of volunteers contributed to the project. Supplies were donated by local businesses and a creative paint by number method on a scaled parachute cloth, which would be attached to the wall allowed the organizers to avoid the cost of insurance and scaffolding. In total the mural was 21 by 73 feet. This case studies exemplifies the power of community collaboration, only through true effort could a wall of this size and artistic caliber been finished (Livingstone, 2012). “Murals can change neighborhoods and lives” - Mary Angela Bock
Brixton Windmill Gardens Camilla Cardenosa, a Graphic Design student at Central Saint Martens decided to examine how a mural with specific focus on text and fonts can bring identity or a sense of place to public spaces. Camillla and a visual artist from Brixton Windmill held numerous workshops with local schools and adult groups so that the design would reflect the history, the community, and the futures hopes for the windmill. The mural design was simplistic to allow all those involved from young to old be involved. The Brixton Windmill gardens community mural can be summarized through months of coordination, unpredictable weather, hours painting, and the reliance on over 200 community members to finish the project. This project demonstrates how much time and collaborated effort must be invested into a project but also the positive outcome of so (London Mural Preservation society, 2013). Figure 16: Brixton Windmill Mural Source: LondonMural preservation, 2013
Figure 15: Living our Dreams Mural Source: Community arts blogspot
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Community Event At the Cumnock Town Hall hosted by the East Ayrshire Council, Cumnock Juniors Football Club expressed interest in tactical urbanism. They expressed interest in a mural to celebrate their centennial year. Liaison with Contact Our liaison with the club was very helpful, he provided us with books on Cumnock’s history and gave artistic freedom for to what the design could be, however; he outlined a small brief: 1. The design must have the clubs logo 2. The design must incorporate characteristics of Cumnock 3. The design must also celebrate Cumnock’s football history The site provided by the club was the back of an external cheering stand. Upon seeing the wall, we initially were worried that it did not qualify as “public realm” as the protected gates to the stand represented an accessibility challenge, however; the club reasoned that the wall was actually council owned and the gates served to counter against vandalism while also being weather protective. With the club knowing its own community, we reasoned that this project could be the stepping-stone to future interventions. As it is stated in the literature review, incremental changes or changes in perception are crucial to the success of a project, much can be said in terms of perception towards ownership. In a town where vandalism does not stray, trust must be earned and this project within its constraints served as the first step.
Scoping Session with Cumnock Academy During the Cumnock Town hall meetings, Cumnock Academy was identified as a potential candidate for aiding in these projects during the summer due to their strong arts program and the important community role that the school plays to Cumnock. With the help of head teachers, a scoping session was organized for pupils in the S2 class (ages 1112) at Cumnock Academy. The students were really enthusiastic about the idea of painting a mural and came up with some brilliant ideas that pertained to the brief, however; there were also challenges that extended beyond encouraging creativity. Positive outcomes • Amount of Participation: Students were eager to participate in the projects and were very interested in the idea of painting a mural. • Students had an awareness of their town’s characteristics. Collectively they identified key places such as the viaduct, the river, the Town Hall, the Mercat cross, and Knochshinnoch (mining accident in the 1950s) • Students were able to recognize that their town was not in the best shape. • Students were able to link their designs to the town’s history recognizing its strong mining origin as well as local figure Keir Hardie (One of the founders of the Independent Labour Party in the United Kingdom)
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Challenges • Many students were not Cumnock Junior Football Club Fans Cumnock Academy serves as a secondary school to not only students from Cumnock but for neighbouring towns such as New Cumnock and whose allegiance did not lie with the local club. Many students were not fans of Cumnock Juniors FC due to the team’s performance within the past few years and were rather fans to senior teams from larger cities such as the Glasgow Celtic FC or Glasgow Rangers FC. While this was a problem for some males in the class, other students had no interest in football at all which also proved problematic. • Many students were not proud of Cumnock Unfortunately this was a recurring theme as many students had negative comments about their town or expressed pride that they were not from it. We tried numerous times to convince the students of their town's natural beauty which ranges from its river to its rolling hills, however; students could not be convinced and spent more time telling us about the town's town’s methadone problem or expressing keen pride in being from a certain neighbourhood in Cumnock. We could also not convince the students that all their comprising neighbourhoods made up Cumnock.
Conclusion from the scoping session Despite all the discussion of why they did not like Cumnock, the design they liked the most had all the elements that best represented Cumnock. • Students were very engaged and excited about the project. They also preferred the collaborative design process over individual designing. • Students liked the idea of being “physically part of the design” for example a silhouette or a picture of them where they too would be part of the legacy. The idea that they had something to gain was very appealing. • Students liked the idea that they could bring their friends and family to the project.
“I’m from Holmhead, the rich part of Cumnock”
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Scoping Session with Cumnock Academy
S2 class Age: 11-12 mix Brief 1. Celebrating centennial year 2. Must incorporate characteristics of Cumnock 3. Must incorporate aspects of Cumnock Juniors Football Club’s history
Themes logo
Cumnock crest
Figure 17: Scoping session with Cumnock Academy
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viaduct
winning memories
mercat cross
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Results The mural painting occurred over a period of three days. Day 1 The first day consisted of wall preparation by the two organizers and drawing in the viaduct, which would become the backbone for the project. During this session, we also became well acquainted with the staff at Cumnock Juniors Football Club who helped us to further develop our design.
Figure 18: Painting Day 1-Viaduct is measured out and painted source: authors
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Day 2 Our official mural painting day which was open to the public occurred on July 17th, everyone who attended was given a general idea for what should be placed in the design, however personal touch and creativity was highly encouraged. During this day, a total of ten participants came to the events (two were the organizers, two were colleagues of the organizers, one was a volunteer with Cumnock Juniors Football Club, three were children of the Cumnock liaison, one was the spouse of the Cumnock liaison and one was the Cumnock liaison themself). Gatekeepers for Cumnock as well as past players with the team flowed in throughout the day offering suggestions or encouragement. Though we were able to finish a majority of the painting, we were disappointed that neither Cumnock Academy, YIP world, or CREATE attended, despite frequent use of flyers, twitter, Facebook, letters, and the Cumnock Chronicle inviting and/or reminding them to attend.
Figure 19: Painting day 2- Open painting day to the public source:authors
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Day 3 The final day was used for touch ups and detailing. By then, the wall had been presented to the public at a home game and was well received. YIP world had again previously agreed to attend, however, no one from YIP World came to participate and the final day was attended by 1 organizer, 1 Cumnock Juniors Football Club volunteer, and the Cumnock liaison.
Figure 20: Painting Day 3- Final Touches source: authors
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Positives
Negatives
Auchinleck Tesco sponsored the event with a generous donation
Members of the public did not attend
Members and volunteers of Cumnock Juniors visited and provided helpful comments to improve the mural throughout the day Cumnock Chronicle was a useful contact in promoting the event A volunteer with Cumnock Juniors Football Club will take the reigns from us and move the project forward
Coordinating and involving other groups who expressed interest in participating in the design and painting The painting took place during the summer break in the school year, inhibiting the potential involvement of students(Members of Cumnock Academy, YIP world, CREATE who had all previously expressed interest did not attend)
An improved environment at a key community facility Ownership of the project by those directly involved within the community
Figure 21: Mural in Action! Cumnock Juniors FC exhibition game photography courtesy of Cumnock Juniors Football Club
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Comments about exhibition “I really appreciate and I’m thankful for the time, commitment and effort that has gone into this project as the end result is a credit to you. The highest compliment I can pay is that the mural has exceeded my expectations (I particularly like the flowers!). A bland whitewashed wall has been completely transformed into something vibrant and something that will be appreciated by visitors to Townhead Park for many years to come. It is also great that there was community engagement throughout the project by involving the school and also attracting local helpers to assist on the day” Scott McCulloch. Cumnock fan ”I think it is very good & helps to brighten up the enclosure” Billy McJannet, Cumnock fan ”A brilliant piece of Cumnock juniors history in art form. Ten out of ten for imagination. Lets hope for more of the same in other areas of Townhead park” Sandy Bryce, Cumnock fan. ”Brings our story to life when I seen it for the first time I thought this should have been done years ago. Thanks” Dave Walker, Cumnock fan. ”Great work livens up a previously dull space. Thanks” Les Bryce, Cumnock fan. Figure 22:Mural in Action! Cumnock Juniors FC exhibition game photography courtesy of Cumnock Juniors Football Club
.
....see Appendices for more comments
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Figure 23: August 24 2013, view of mural during Cumnock Juniors FC vs. Largs Thistle first season match source: authors
Figure 24: August 24 2013, view of mural during Cumnock Juniors FC vs. Largs Thistle first season match source: authors
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Figure 25: August 24 2013, Cumnock Juniors FC versus Largs Thistle. source: authors
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PROJECT 2: WOODROAD PARK MEMORY WALK Facts Opened in 1936 Pool was closed in 2004 Location of the Cumnock Carnival
Woodroad Pool Source: Cumnock Chronicle
Open-air Dance Floor Source: Cumnock Chronicle
Cumnock, East Ayrshire, UK
Woodroad and Viaduct
Woodroad Park
Woodroad Exhibition
Current state
Listed Building from 19th Century Underutilized Playground/Trail
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Project 2: Woodroad Park: A stroll down memory lane Partners: Interested members of the Cumnock community What: An outdoor exhibition of stories of fond memories and photos of Woodroad Park, where the public is free to both view the displays and share their stories and memories with others. This exhibition will take place in Woodroad Park (exhibition later moved to more trafficked area), which is only a short walk away from the town centre but often forgotten as a viable social space. The size and methods of delivering the exhibition will be determined by community interest and how many submissions are received. Why: Woodroad Park is a beautiful natural resource for the town but it has become under utilized. It is our hope that an exhibition will remind people of how vibrant Woodroad Park once was and encourage them to continue to use the space to create future memories with friends and family. During the course of the year, a number of community members shared stories of memories they had from Woodroad Park and of events that have taken place there in the past. These stories were all told in the context of various public meetings, including the two meetings that took place at City Hall on May 1st and 2nd. After a while it became clear that Woodroad Park has been an important landmark for many in the town throughout Cumnock's history. We felt it would be interesting to gather some of these stories for a more formal exhibition, so that they may be shared with the more than just one or two listeners.
Aims of the Project • To generate discussion amongst residents • To encourage people to use Woodroad Park • To highlight the park as a valuable natural feature within the town History of Woodroad Park Woodroad Park opened in 1936. In July of that year Provost Mrs. Hughes opened the open-air pool amidst a crowd of 2,500 spectators. It was 100 feet long, 45 feet wide, 3-10 meters deep, and was dugout entirely by local miners (Strawhorn, 1966); it was considered to be one of the finest open-air pools in the entire United Kingdom (ibid). Woodroad Park was a vibrant community resource and an active piece of social capital with several amenities, such as the pool, tennis courts, trampolines, a dance floor, a caravan park, a fountain, and putting greens. It was extremely popular and people would come not only from Cumnock but also from all over Ayrshire to enjoy what the park had to offer. The pool was closed in 2004 and prior to that the caravan park was also shutdown. Since then the park is often underutilized, as most of the amenities have been taken away; there are still hiking trails and a play park that provide some amenities to visitors. Speaking to many residents of Cumnock, it is clear that the park acts as a source for many seemingly trivial, yet invaluable memories.
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Overton Park Stories- Memphis, Tennessee, United States In Memphis, Tennessee, the Overton Park Conservancy have decided to take the stories they hear from people on a daily basis and share them with the entire community. They are doing this by asking people to submit written stories, both short anecdotes and long memories, and photos or share stories by talking with them directly and bringing photographs. As part of their story gathering, they are holding a day session at the local library where people can drop in to give their stories and photographs. The stories will eventually be archived on their website for people to view and eventually published into a book. Similar to Woodroad Park, Overton Park, which opened in 1901, has a rich history and has had an impact on the lives of many generations within the community (Overton Park Conservancy, 2013).
IFigure 26: Image from Overton Park Stories (Overton Park Conservancy, 2013)
Riley Park Stories- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada In 2009, member of the Riley Park Community Centre formed a group to create the Riley Park Stories Project. The group collected personal stories, photographs, and videos from February to July 2009 via text submissions and verbal story telling. These submissions were then posted on their blog for the community to enjoy and reflect upon. The stories and photographs were later made into a video with a public screening at the Riley Park Community Centre. It was their hope that through, “Exploring these stories that you can really understand the sense of the community, you can see how lives interconnect and you can piece together how this neighbourhood has grown� (Riley Park Community Centre, 2010).
Figure 27: Riley Park Stories promotional flyer (Riley Park Community Centre, 2010)
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Impromptu Discussions A number of discussions occurred when mention was made of a Woodroad Park master plan being done as part of the Urban Design Studio. People would share their opinions of what they felt should happen with the park, mostly based around the reopening of former park amenities, such as the open air pool and caravan park, as well as stories of the park's former glory. Community Event During the Town Hall event on 1st and 2nd of May 2013, members of the community, as well as representatives from East Ayrshire Council and other local groups, took part in a discussion of potential tactical urbanism ideas for the town of Cumnock. Woodroad Park was mentioned a number of times during these discussions; people shared some fond memories they had of the park, again mostly with regards to the former open air swimming pool and also the Queen's visit. It was at this meeting that it was realised that there was great potential to gather and share some of these stories of the park. The majority of the stories took place in the past tense, but with some encouragement and reminiscence, it may be possible to encourage people to create more memories of Woodroad Park in the present and provide relevance for the future of the park. Advertisements Advertisement for submissions of stories took place through a number of mediums, including Twitter, Facebook, flyers, an email address, and the local newspaper: The Cumnock Chronicle. Flyers were displayed in various locations around town, including bus stops, the library, Woodroad Park, local shops and cafes, and the Glaisnock Centre.
They asked people to either email or post, with return addresses for photographs, their stories and photos; with the hope that anyone without access to or a great understanding of the Internet would also be able to contribute to the project by posting their submissions. Liasing with Community Members Offering Support A couple of local residents heard of the Woodroad Park project and offered support by giving their stories and photographs, and by making suggestions of other potential contacts and places that may be of assistance with the gathering of photographs, information and stories. They also sent the flyer asking for story submissions to their personal contacts and asked each to do the same. Both are long time residents of Cumnock and one had been previously involved with the Urban Design Studio during a scoping session, which had taken place October 2012. Collecting Photographs from Local Resources A large number of historical Woodroad Park images were obtained through the Cumnock Chronicle. These images were quite helpful in attracting visitors to the exhibition and provoking conversation. Visitor’s Books As part of the story gathering process, four visitors' books were placed within the park and the Glaisnock Centre. The books asked visitors to share any stories and comments they had about the park, and to draw a picture of them enjoying the park or of a particular fond memory they had of the park. Each visitor's book kit contained a book, as well as pens and coloured pencils. Originally, the plan was to leave the books in the park and shopping centre for a week's time, however, 55
after noticing that a number of posted flyers had been torn down it was decided that that they would only be left over the course of a weekend.
Hiking Trail
Playground Seating Area
Shopping Centre
Figure 28: Visitor’s Book Locations within Cumnock source:Authors
Figure 29: Visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Book before and after (<4 days) source:Authors
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Presentation of Submissions All submissions of stories and photographs were presented in the form of small postcards that could be tied along the fence of the bridge. Generating the Exhibition Although the original plan was to create an exhibition in Woodroad Park, the need to collect additional stories through a live project warranted a change of location to an area with more potential participants. However, the aims of the project remained the same. The exhibition took place over the course of a single day. Day of Exhibition The Woodroad Park Exhibition and live project occurred on August 12th. A â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;memory laneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was created along a heavily trafficked bridge over Glaisnock Water between the EAC offices/library and the local ASDA supermarket. Previously submitted stories and photographs were hung along with bridge for any passersby to see. The exhibition included a live project element due to a lack of initial responses. Throughout the day more stories and images were added to the display as people stopped to share their memories with us. For the most part, those in attendance chose to share their memories freely with us (although some did require engagement), however, once asked to write their memories down they became apprehensive. As a result, we began to write down stories and live paint images of shared memories to add to the display. Many of the attendees shared insight on photographs and stories with both themselves and us, creating the dialogue that the exhibition was intended to stimulate. Since the ASDA was busy due to back to school shopping, the location of the exhibition was successful in attracting a steady number of participants.
Figure 30: Woodroad Park Exhibition Day source: Authors
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Comments about exhibition Despite the fact that the project was unsanctioned and permission was not given to use the bridge for the exhibition, several EAC members passed by without any complaints.
“It was very interesting to see the old pictures: they really show the community spirit Cumnock once had.”
Positive
Negative
“I had never thought of Cumnock as such a fun place for all ages. Seeing the joy and mixed crowds at the pool and thinking of how the town interacts with each other now: it is a shame.”
People are generally more supportive of project after being encouraged by local residents to participate
Most advertisements were taken down despite receiving permission to post them
“The idea of this pop up exhibition is great. It’s nice to take time to reflect on what once was and to think what could be.”
Social media helped to spread the word about the project
Visitor’s booklets were stolen shortly after they were placed in the park
People willing to share momories Not be enough submissions to be and stories with organizers on the able to produce a large exhibition day of the event (required the assistance of a local resident to collect stories) Location was successful despite being unsanctioned People were apprehensive about physically participating Exhibition was successful in creating dialogue about Woodroad Park
“This has certainly brightened up my usual walk to the shops.” “Seeing how Woodroad once was makes me wish I was around back in its hey day.” "The choice of location for the display of materials and photos ensured a steady stream of passersby and the opportunity to engage effectively with a cross section of local residents, shoppers and workers. The variety of stories, anecdotes, recollections, etc. collected should provide a valuable resource for the community about Woodroad Park."
A range of age groups were in attendance
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Figures 31-34 Vintage Images of the Cumnock Carnival in Woodroad Park (Cumnock Chronicle, 2013) 59
Discussion The aim of this research was to critically understand the process of tactical urbanism and its relation to planning, community development, and education. In conducting our projects in Cumnock, we began to understand how malleable tactical urbanism must be to its local context. Cumnock is not a unique example of a town that has been affected by the recession and in need of alternative sources and actors in its quest towards regeneration. Cumnock offers an example, albeit perhaps an extreme one, of the challenges facing the majority of towns in the United Kingdom. While administrating our projects, we realized that pioneers of the tactical urbanism movement often speak of an intervention's simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and ability to spark dialogue but the one element missing from the how-to-manuals and booklets is the actuality of the process. While projects in the relative sense require little time commitment, the actuality of implementing a tactical urbanism project is that it is much more difficult than its accompanying theory. In understanding the tactical urbanism process, there are three issues that fail to be addressed by those promoting tactical urbanism; they are the importance of financial and community support, the role of the organizers as agents of change, and the barriers of the participatory process. Each of these issues are discussed throughout the following sections: Support and Planning, Agents of Change, and Education and Participation.
Support and Planning In a diagrammatic form, tactical urbanism as a process of building ideas, learning from the data, and measuring the project is simple but no project is complete without financial and community support. Whether a project is sanctioned or not, every tactical urbanism project requires a degree of community and financial support. Projects are the making of community, if there is no community capital; it is difficult to have a project. While this was not seen as profusely in the mural project, it was visible in the Woodroad Park exhibition. Throughout the duration of our project, two main institutions played different roles in the tactical urbanism implementation process: East Ayrshire Council and the Prince's Foundations. Each institution provided varying degrees of support, which were evident in the results and will be discussed. The mural project had the support of another institution: Cumnock Juniors Football Club. With the inclusion of Cumnock Juniors Football Club, the progression and result of the mural project travelled a path different from the Woodroad Park exhibition and in comparing the two projects; we discuss how the extra support acted as a source of leverage. East Ayrshire Council was involved from the analysis stage of the project. As a council, they provided useful contacts and invited us to attend their Main Issues Report (MIR) meeting where some of our findings up to that point were presented. Initially, EAC were keen supporters of tactical urbanism in Cumnock but towards the middle of the year, they as a council decided to temporarily distance themselves from our projects. Their reasons included time and budget constraints, the need to remain politically impartial to proposals; that they could not guarantee the delivery of, and they did not want to be associated with a process which might raise expectations for locals on future developments or proposals. It should be acknowledged that the above 60
concerns were not universally held by EAC and there was continuous support expressed by certain EAC officers and representatives throughout the process. Those from EAC who understood the nature and ambitions of tactical urbanism were supportive throughout; it was those who lacked the knowledge or awareness who provided barriers or hurdles. Though initially enthusiastic, the reasons stated are not uncommon to most tactical urbanism projects (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165).
our proposals thereafter.
We felt their temporary retraction had an impact on our projects as without EAC involvement our projects lacked validity. What was more important to the success of the project was not financial support, which could be found by other means, but community support. Community support by EAC through the simple acknowledgment of our presence would have removed some of the barriers we encountered during the process such as the inability to promote our projects in certain places or the ability to find participants. EAC community support would have relieved us of the awkwardness in explaining ourselves to members of the public and provided the necessary link between the locals and us. While we are understanding of the position taken by EAC, we argue that providing community support would have increased their position within the community as it acknowledges that they support making positive changes to the community. In contrast to the EAC, we received community support from the Prince's Foundation, which has an acknowledged role within Cumnock and East Ayrshire. The community support by the Prince's Foundation provided the element of trust we were looking for. Upon mention of their support, locals not only acknowledged their recognition of them as an organization but also were much more willing to listen to
Both projects faced a bit of difficulty in attracting a wider net of institutional support, although the sanctioned project faced significantly less. We argue that due to the unsanctioned nature of the Woodroad park exhibition, it was less successful due to the lack of initial community support (The mural had the support of Cumnock Juniors Football Club). When a project is unsanctioned, it relies almost entirely on the participation of community members, which, despite our efforts, we were unable to attain until the day of the exhibition. Community support from an institution of any size provides a bit of leverage as that institution has established itself as part of a community and thus by default any association to that institution thereby gives legitimacy to the cause. Cumnock Juniors Football Club has a very loyal fan base and due to their association with the greater football community, more interest about the wall spread as time passed, this demonstrates the importance of institutional community support. In contrast, the Woodroad Park exhibition, which only had the support of the Prince's Foundation, struggled to gain advanced support. Relying solely on community members, it was much more difficult to legitimize ourselves because we as an outside institution from Glasgow had no standing within the community other than by association. When we needed to
The Prince's Foundation also provided the element of financial support, which was useful given our limited time frame. Though it is often not discussed, all projects require funds. The means by which the funds are acquired depend on whether the project seeks the generosity of locals or searches for capital through grants or donations by formal agencies, this reiterates back to the question of sanctioned or unsanctioned.
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send information out to the community we had to rely on gatekeepers to pass forward the information or hope that locals would see the advertisements and would want to send in their memories. This acted as a barrier to the transfer of information and ultimately the level of success the project achieved.
Agents of Change The purpose of any organized intervention is to create change and the agent of change is the person responsible for that organization (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165). As the agent of change, a significant amount of time and commitment must be invested into the project, as one is not only responsible for facilitating, but coordinating, operating and generating interest in the project as well. (Radywyl and Biggs, 2012:165). The multiple roles performed by an agent of change can be daunting. The difficulty in undertaking this role is not only the time, commitment, and multiple roles that must be played but the sheer determination needed. As the heart of the intervention, we found our role as the agents of change in Cumnock to be quite challenging, especially as we lacked the resources or the networks to pass a task along. We argue that the difficulties we encountered can be alleviated with strong community commitment.
Postive
Negative
Unexpected volunteers groups and supporters
Residents were more willing to help with a project when approached to do so by another resident rather than by an outsider.
Projects were completed within the expected time frame Projects were completed within budget Community members were interested in participating once seeing the physical results of a project (Example: Stopped to look at exhibition and shared stories)
Posters/flyers and visitors books were either taken or destroyed and constant monitoring was needed Commuting to and from Cumnock was a burden, especially when having to bring in supplies or when adhering to an strict time schedule Many showed an initial interest in helping with projects but failed to follow through or were apprehensive about physically participating
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A. Facilitating Important to the process of tactical urbanism is transparency as it builds a sense of trust and encourages dialogue within the community thus it was important that the public was aware of all events and when, why, and how they would occur. Both projects relied on the local newspaper, flyers and social media including twitter and Facebook to continually remind locals of the upcoming events. Open dialogue is also an important factor in maintaining the energy and momentum for the project until the end. Social media is listed as an important tool in the tactical urbanism movement, which proved true in our projects as well. Initially social media was used as a means to communicate with younger cohorts but as our projects progressed, we discovered how useful it was as a tool in general. Twitter in specific was a fantastic means of connecting to citizens whom we unexpectedly came into contact with, with some former residents commenting on our projects as far away as New Zealand or even neighbouring towns such as Auchinleck. Media such as the Cumnock Chronicle, who are also a major stakeholder in the community, played a major part in promoting our events through Twitter, Facebook, and newspaper articles. These two examples reiterate the power of communication and its role in new age projects; however, this medium is not without faults. While local media and social media could be categorized as successful outlets, its one disadvantage was that it is restricted to those who either use social media or who subscribe to the local paper. Also, though Twitter and the Chronicle were successful in terms of spreading the message, they were not successful in terms of attaining the results we needed. Rather we
argue using the traditional method of word of mouth is perhaps the most useful tool as seen through the outcome of our projects. Posters and visitor's tool kits were placed around the town advertising the projects asking for input, but we received little to no response. In contrast, word of mouth was a very successful tactic. In the case of the Woodroad Park exhibition, through word of mouth, we were able to gather six stories versus the lack of stories that were gathered through posters. Word of mouth uses the most basic form of networking (face to face contact) and is intimate. In a setting like Cumnock, the success of word of mouth demonstrates the degree of which residents were willing to participate. For example after attending the Woodroad Park exhibition, more participants dropped by after they were encouraged by their friends. B. Coordinating Chiara Camponeschi (2011) argues for arts based approaches in tactical urbanism because they challenge the way we think about engagement and allow those involved to understand that â&#x20AC;&#x153;their own creativity matters. The best solution to an arts based community projects is to have a socially responsive design (Walter, 2011:21). A socially responsive design is where the public space atmosphere is welcoming and responsive to the needs and desires of the community (Walter, 2011:25). With reference to the mural project, in order to create a socially responsive design, we aimed to involve different contacts within the community by holding a scoping session with Cumnock Academy and inviting different community organizations to attend the painting day. Different organizations bring different talents and ideas to a project, which can be beneficial as it may make the project richer. 63
Education and Participation Many community groups initially showed considerable interest in being involved in the two projects but on the day of, many failed to materialize. This was prevalent in the mural project with the failure of two major stakeholders to attend. However, we were unexpectedly surprised with the volunteers from Cumnock Juniors Football Club who were not only great supporters of the mural but also played a key role in helping us to complete our project in a timely manner and provided the local insight that we were hoping to attain in creating a socially responsive mural. C. Operating On the day of the Woodroad Park exhibition, many people were interested in viewing the materials and sharing their comments and stories with others and us. However, when asked to write down their stories or thoughts for the exhibition, people became apprehensive about physically participating. A number of people stopped to look at the exhibition, but needed to be engaged by us before they were willing to share their stories or comments. This changed the role of the agents from simply organizing and facilitating the projects to also operating the projects; this also occurred during the mural project. When operating a project, it is important to remain as impartial as possible to ensure that personal biases do not affect the outcome.
While conducting our projects and encountering the barriers of the participation process, we realized how important tactical urbanism is to master planning. A planning proposal has no function if it is not for the people, and it has no credibility if it does not involve the community; tactical urbanism can serve as excellent outlet for community involvement. Incorporating tactical urbanism into master planning education has given us insight that we would not have gained through traditional theoretical approaches to teaching. The difficulties we encountered throughout the participation process mimic those that would be encountered during other planning projects, and taught us of the unpredictability of any project; this includes projects associated with larger long-term visions found in master planning. Rather than looking to attain a particular outcome as originally set out, we realize that the amount of altering and scaling down that we had to do to our projects was directly correlated to public participation. The completion of our projects relied on the necessity to be flexible and adaptable, reiterating the value of sequential planning and the need for this to be incorporated into urban design education. When considering our predetermined objectives for the projects undertaken in Cumnock, both projects were, for the most part, successful ventures. However, determining the success of public participation process for tactical urbanism is not necessarily as easy as simply determining whether objectives were met. There are four essential characteristics of participation, identified by Sanoff that can be observed when determining the success of projects involving public participation, these are:
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1. That participation is inherently good 2. It is a source of wisdom and information about local conditions, needs and attitudes that can help to make decision making more effective 3. The method is inclusive and pluralistic and fundamental human needs were fulfilled and values were reflected 4. It is a means of defending the interests of groups of people and if individuals. It also acts as a tool for satisfying needs that are often ignored or controlled by other organizations (Sanoff, 2000: 12) Sanoff states that, “experiences in the participation process show that the main source of user satisfaction is not the degree to which a person’s needs have been met, but the feeling of having influenced decisions” (ibid). This means that although the original objectives of a public participation process may not have been met, both participants and the community may still see positive outcomes from the process itself, perhaps through the sense of empowerment or the knowledge gained. Although we may not have received as many story submissions as we had originally hoped for, the public's response to the exhibition, their comments on pictures and stories, and the sharing of their own memories throughout the day made our project a success. We managed to get the community talking and reminiscing about Woodroad Park, both in current times and the past, which was our original intention, it just happened a little differently than expected.
Positive
Negative
Gatekeepers were generally supportive of the idea of tactical urbanism in Cumnock
More community engagement was needed at the beginning of the process
Received support from unlikely sources
A network of individuals or committees was needed at the initial stage of the process
Received procurement from the Prince’s Foundation
More time was needed to propose, organize, and conclude the projects Multiple methods of advertisement (social media, word of mouth, and flyers/posters) were unsuccessful in communicating with the public More involvement from the community groups would have been beneficial
Even though we had difficulty implementing our two projects, we have learned much about the process and the town along the way. We could have benefited from more community engagement from 65
Future Implications the beginning of the process, allowing us to secure more potential volunteers and a greater network of contacts from the start. It would have also been useful to have more time to properly propose, organize and implement the projects. The precedents used for our case studies: Overton Park Stories, Riley Park Stories, Brixton Windmill gardens mural, Living our Dreams and Creating our Future mural took several months to a year to complete from start to finish; it was somewhat unrealistic to assume it could be done over the course of a few short months.
The scope of urban design has changed in recent times. The focus for urban design is no longer on large scale or expensive interventions but to work in collaboration with small-scale interventions to repair the existing environment; this is definitely the case for towns like Cumnock that are suffering from economic decline. Successful tactical urbanism ventures are not the future of the movement, rather they are positive reinforcements. The real future of tactical urbanism is whether the tactics have made a change in the way people think and feel about their environment.
The lack of participation resulted in us having to slightly alter the original objectives for both projects. Both needed to be scaled down, in order to be completed by the number of participants who volunteered. The muralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design became less complex with fewer participants. It was also our hope to have several pieces of the mural would be planned and painted by community members; instead much of the mural was designed and implemented by Strathclyde students. The exhibition of stories and photographs of Woodroad Park depended on the direct input from community members. A lack of initial responses led to a different exhibition than originally planned; our memory lane grew throughout the day as attendees added their memories and comments.
Although our projects were not grand schemes for rejuvenation, we felt their small successes still had a valuable impact, evidenced by feedback received from local stakeholders. We also felt these successes were catalysts for future change as people became more aware of what had been done. For example, the mural at Cumnock Juniors Football Club, though initially unsuccessful in terms of interest, has since gathered significant attention as evidenced in the comments about the wall. Similarly the Woodroad Park exhibition showed that live projects are equally as effective at drawing interest, and that participation is directly correlated to the project's success. People were able to see how they influenced the success of the project, as the exhibition grew larger with more support over the course of the day. Sanoff suggests that the success of the project is not the final outcome rather success is based on participants feeling as if they were able to make a difference (Sanoff, 2000: 12). Residents have begun to realize how a small change such a painting or contributing a story to boost community spirit can impact the overall experience of the environment and that one does not need to be a professional to make a difference.
Often urban design education focuses the end result of a better place but fails to address an important aspect of the intermediary process: public participation. Participation has the ability to drastically alter or change a plan, which is why it should be incorporated seamlessly into the education curriculum.
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We can never predict whether Cumnock residents will continue implementing tactical urbanism within their town, but it is with our highest hopes that they learn from what we have demonstrated through these two small, fun and inexpensive projects.
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Conclusion Tactical urbanism is much more challenging than the theory explored in our literature review suggests. These challenges arise from real life unforeseeable circumstances, some of which are avoidable and can be overcome while others cannot such as trying to work within an appropriate framework or the challenge of delivering projects working with the relevant parties. No intervention is perfect which makes for an enriching experience. Furthermore the challenges that cannot be avoided are found in every project: barriers of public participation, financial and community support, and organization of the project. These challenges represent the reality of the situation. Our expectation that people would want to participate, that we would receive support from our community networks, or that the project would be easy, deceived us. When our expectations are not met, we perceived our project to be a failure but this is often untrue; "failure is the game" (Liveblogging tactical urbanism salon, 2011). In a live blogging forum between key players of the tactical urbanism movement and the audience, the topic of failure was discussed to emphasize how important failure is to the process and how it should be perceived as a positive aspect to a project. Chiara Camponeschi: "Slogan- Try again, fail again, fail better. There is an attitude with tactical urbanism that allows for greater experimentation. If something isn't working, tactical urbanism offers the opportunity to open it up to more diverse viewpoints."
Aurash Khawarzad: "We go to tactical urbanism interventions expecting to learn; there is no failure, no right way. Just go and get your hands dirty and learn over time, develop a set of principles that help us figure out what failure is." Audience: We have to get rid of this concern with failure. The idea that there is a government separate from people with the answers is ridiculous. When you talk about failure, the biggest failure is when something is built exactly as you designed it. It's been imposed.
(Live blogging tactical urbanism salon, 2011)
Although our projects did not go as originally planned, we now realize there is no such thing as failure in tactical urbanism due to its process that encourages agility and viability. The entire experience, including the numerous hurdles we encountered, was part of the educational process. Lydon suggests that the large-scale mistakes of the past, for example the construction of sprawling suburbs resulted in problems that are difficult to reverse. This is not the case when â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;failureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is experienced with small scale actions, as they are not large enough to cause harm and can serve as a learning experience for adapting future tactics (Live blogging tactical urbanism salon, 2011). Neither of us had undertaken projects like this before, and there was much to be learned beyond what could be discovered through completing a literature review. Completing these projects has not only been a valuable learning experience in terms of adapting future strategies for implementing tactical urbanism projects, it has also helped to enrich our learning experience at the University of Strathclyde. Project based learning 68
is different from regular theoretical educational exercises because students are given the opportunity to participate in authentic situations, helping them to link course material to the skills they will need to apply during their professional careers. This not only helps to maintain student's interest in the course, but also works to develop stronger problem solving, analysis, reasoning, communication and selfassessment skills, as well as the ability to grasp stronger context knowledge; these are all crucial to success once working in the field (Centre of Teaching and Learning, 2001: 1). During our professional careers we will experience ups and downs similar to those that occurred during this project. It would be impractical to assume that everything will go exactly as planned; it is the lessons, not the successes, we take from this experience that are important. Often during theoretical exercises, it is difficult to gauge successes and failures because the context you are working in can be tweaked in favour of the project; this is certainly not the case when you are working with real people in a real town, producing real outcomes. When reviewing the complications experienced during our two tactical urbanism projects its becomes clear that all issues are attributed to these two main causes; a lack of time and a lack of support. Based on case studies, most tactical urbanism projects take more than a couple of months to fully plan and implement. We would have benefited from additional time, as it would have allowed us to gain more support through various methods including, but not limited to, focus groups, advertisements and community awareness events. Inversely, if we had been able to obtain more support during the initial stages of the projects, then we would not have needed as much time to implement the projects. Instead, a lack of both time and support left
us feeling stretched and unable to complete the projects to the level of detail or grandeur we had originally anticipated. For future projects, we recommend outlining clear objectives for what the final outcome of the project will be, the number and types of people who will be involved and a timeline of when everything should be completed. If you do not know how long it takes to complete a task, such as painting a mural or gathering stories, then it is best to research how long it has taken other groups, and with how much support. If your goals do not seem attainable, then alter your timeline and/or number of participants accordingly, rather than sacrificing the final outcomes you desire. This reminded us of the who, what, when, where and why questions Sanoff referred to, that should be asked before beginning a project but are often forgotten. However, above all else a positive attitude to failure is crucial. The planning failures of mono-functional developments have pushed tactical urbanism into the forefront of planning. Through small-scale interventions, we can learn and adapt to context in order to create better places in urban design. Since tactical urbanism is new a concept in the planning framework, it is still at the experimental phase of understanding and testing. The future of tactical urbanism is about propelling the movement forward by pushing the boundaries of creativity, understanding permanency, engaging with communities and generating excitement for change. In the future, tactical urbanism may become a permanent feature of the planning framework, working in conjunction with a master plan as an accepted and promoted strategy for better urban design.
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Authors’ Reflection Our year working in Cumnock has been both a rewarding and challenging one. When we entered the Urban Design Program at the University of Strathclyde we thought that we would just be participating in another year full of theoretical academic exercises, with very little actual engagement within the area we were studying. We knew that as part of our studio requirements we were expected to analyse the place we were working in, and that by the end of the year would become self-proclaimed experts on the place, we would be able to recite, at the drop of a hat, the local statistics, the street network or where local services are located. However, little did we know that by the end of the year we would be so submersed within our study area that we would begin learn the names and stories of some of the people we would see around town or even work side by side with some of these people. Although overtime we began to feel less like non-members of the community, we were still perceived as such by residents of the town. On one hand, we had begun to form relationships with several local groups and individuals from the town and no longer felt as if our presence was met with a barrage of confused stares. On the other hand, the lack of support we received without any actual direct assistance from an insider made us feel as if we had not been fully accepted or trusted by residents after all. Some may feel that it would have been easier and less stressful to work on a theoretical project, where you are free, within reason, to design and master plan without the having to consult with the public or spend much time in the place you are working in, but we say “where’s the fun in that?” Once we eventually graduate and start working the real world our projects will no longer be theoretical, instead our actions and decisions will have an impact on what happens in a place. Often
times when you are completing projects in an educational setting you have a tendency to think, “well it's not real so what I propose doesn’t really matter anyways,” and that is a mind set that we have to break out of before we enter the professional world. There is no better time to break out of this mindset than when you are actually learning the skills you will need to call upon during your professional career; doing so allows you to feel that what you are learning is much more relevant. This year, our studio class felt more like a professional project than simply an educational exercise, and in the end that made us take it all the more seriously. Although we may not have realized it initially, we now know that the literature about project-based learning is correct as we can directly see, through what we have learned throughout the year, that we have developed more useful knowledge and skills than we would have through a theoretical exercise. This is especially the case for our problem solving, communication and analysis skills as these are the areas we found ourselves most often challenged in. Throughout our year in Cumnock we were faced with many challenges and learned several lessons. There are aspects of the year that we did not enjoy as they made our experience inconvenient or frustrating at times. First and foremost was the commute to Cumnock. The closest train station that provides access to Cumnock was in Auchinleck, this came with a number of issues including the infrequent train schedule or the distrance from the train station to Cumnock. These issues were most burdensome when moving supplies or trying to coordinate meetings. We also often felt that we were burdening people throughout the process with either our questions, requests for information or assistance. Being non-residents in the town meant we had to rely on the assistance of insiders, all of which had their own responsibilities to 71
worry about, to help spread word of mouth, provide us with useful information about the town, and help point us in the right direction with regards to appropriate contacts. That being said, we also had the occasional issue of a language barrier between our local contacts and us. Both of us are international students from Canada, and although our year in Scotland has given us the ability to understand various accents and differences in linguistics, we still regularly encountered individuals we found difficult to understand. This was particularly apparent when trying to engage in a telephone conversation. Finally, one real frustrating aspect of our time in Cumnock was due to the fact that we do not like seeing our hard work wasted. We spent time and money on producing flyers and visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book kits to promote our projects, and time and time again we returned to find them either stolen or destroyed; this was both frustrating and disenchanting. Despite these challenges, there were still a number of valuable lessons we learned from our year in Cumnock:
1. Creating a rapport with community should be the first objective in any live project, as community support is key 2. People are not apathetic, they either do not know how to engage, the subject does not interest them or they are busy or unable to participate
3. People are busy and have their own responsibilities to worry about; you cannot always expect the support you need when you need it 4. People and groups will not always meet your expectations of them; this is something to anticipate 5. Collaborate with different groups and agree on goals and objectives prior to beginning a project 6. Time, commitment and rejection are all important aspects of a project
7. Transparency is key, not only when working with the public but also with each other 8. Creativity is important, but is limited by resources, opinions or law and regulation 9. Ideas and projects are constantly evolving 10. Resources and support can come from unexpected places
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Appendices Youth and Tactical Urbanism The original intention was the complete the Cumnock Juniors Football Club mural through a partnership with Cumnock Academy and other youth groups; however, since youth participation was unexpectedly limited the following section on youth participation is no longer fully relevant to our project: Although youth should be considered equal members of a community during public participation processes, it may be beneficial to illustrate some of the unique benefits that can occur when youths are given the chance to participate in tactical urbanism projects. Often youth want to become involved in community projects but fail to do so because of various reasons, such as constraints placed on them by adults or the fact that they are in school most of the day (Sanoff, 2000:). Youth tend to choose to participate in projects that will directly impact their community and are more accepting of diversity than many older generations (Sanoff, 200: 20). When youths choose to become involved in public participation it opens up the opportunity for a number of benefits, not only for the youth involved but also the community as a whole. Allowing youth to participate in the public participation process provides the opportunity to assume a role as an active member of his or her own community. These youth may continue to feel empowered to make decisions that will have an impact on the future of their community into their adulthood. The rewards of participation experienced by youth include skills development, reduction of isolation and a sense of empowerment (Sanoff, 2000: 21). The greatest period of exploration in our lives occurs during adolescence,
this means that youths have the potential to offer a unique creativity to tactical urbanism projects (Sanoff, 2000: 19). In her paper, "Insight, creativity and thoughts in the environment: integrating children and youth into human settlement development," Louise Chawla argues that involving children in planning and development not only allows them to brings their special energies and insights to the process, it is also vital to the future sustainability and success of long term goals (Chawla, 2002: 12-15). Through active participation, the life long habits or concern and care for their surroundings are instilled within children (Chawla, 2002: 15). This allows them to be better prepared to identify and solve issues of concerns later in their lives. Children tend to focus their attention towards development and planning at the community level. This is because children have limited experience outside of the neighbourhoods they live and play within everyday. This allows issues of a more local context to be identified and addressed when children are involved in the process (Chawla, 2002: 14). One case study of successful youth engagement at the smallscale community level can be found in the South Side of Chicago where youths under the guidance of landscape architects helped the Du Sable/Fare Outdoor Learning Centre. This space acts as oasis between an elementary and secondary school and were both conceived and designed by at-risk youth (Sanoff, 2000:19). The students had a central role in the project and the professionals involved described themselves as, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tools to assist the students who were the heart and soul of the projectâ&#x20AC;? (Sanoff, 2000:19). It was not only the students who benefited from this project. After reflecting upon the project, the professionals involved realized that they too had learned something from their work with the students: the process was just 77
as important as the end product and that the traditional approach to public participation is not necessarily the best approach (Sanoff, 2000: 19). These lessons allowed the professionals involved to make changes to how to they approach public participation in the future. The National Network for Youth helped to coin the idea of “community youth development” (Sanoff, 2000: 18). Community youth development involves creating partnerships with youth to help them to create stronger ties with their community, whilst also encouraging the community to create a greater sense of value and support for local youth (Sanoff, 2000:18). Creating partnerships with youth also allows them to feel a greater sense of belonging and affords them the opportunity to becoming a socially productive member of their community (Sanoff, 2000:18). This has positive implications for a communities’ potential; involving youth is like an investment towards a community’s future, as it is the youth of today that will by driving community initiatives in the future, for it is through participatory processes that “Youths are taking on roles that make them active members of their communities” (Sanoff, 2000:19).
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Timeline of Events
event at 17 Scoping Dumfries house,
Students brainstorm ideas for tactical urbanism based off strategies presented at MIR meeting
Cumnock, UK EAC commits to Tactical Ubanism
2o13
FebruaryMarch
Students create â&#x20AC;&#x153;Projects Bookletâ&#x20AC;? outline potential small, medium, long term projects
december
20
october
2o12
september
University of Strathclyde is introduced to Cumnock
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK: ALFA workshop
with East 5 meeting Ayrshire council,
Main Issues Report
november
East Ayrshire, UK: Introducing Cumnock background
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10 First Paint 1: 17 Project Official Painting Project 1:
May
March
1& 2
Townhall meeting, Cumnock East Ayrshire: UK, Students introduce tactical urbanism to the public
2: memory 28 Project walk begins. Flyers
for both Project 1 & 2 are put up in Cumnock. Twitter, and gmail accounts created
1: Final day 24 Project of paining, project is completed.
session 25 Second distributing flyers & Project 2:
booklets 2: 28 Project Booklet set up in Woodroad park are collected for analysis
day for 3 End submitting stories Project 2:
& pictures 2: 9 Project exhibition
August
17
Project 1: Scoping seesion with Cumnock Academy East Ayrshire, UK
day with members of the Public
July
Project 1:
June
27
mural 1 Cumnock begins
Gatekeeper meeting at Council offices East Ayrshire: UK Students introduce tactical urbanism & potential ideas
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Location of Knockroon Knockroon
Town centre
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Additional Comments About Mural It looks brilliant and certainly brightens up the ground well done great job” Nigel Spencer Cumnock Juniors YFC ”Girls you did a fantastic mural Thanks for a beautiful piece of our history” Bobby McCulloch, captain of the Scottish Cup winning sides of 1979 & 1989. ”Brings our story to life when I seen it for the first time I thought this should have been done years ago. Thanks” Dave Walker, Cumnock fan. ”Great mural that captures the whole ethos of not only Cumnock juniors but also the town and history of Cumnock. Well done to all involved” David Weir, Cumnock fan. ”Brightens up the place. Well done. You have done a grand job” Owen Scott, Nock's programme editor, committee member & fan. “A fantastic feature and a credit to our Centenary! Great design, reflecting our history, people and local landmarks. Well thought out and delivered. Thank you” Eric Bennett, Cumnock fan ”Both myself Stevie Farrell and Stevie Aitken (both of Stranraer FC) attended Townhead park recently, and as a former player and manager of Cumnock Juniors I was immensely impressed by the mural on the Kop stand...the artists of the work should be extremely
satisfied, and indeed proud, at such a fine and eye catching piece of work, that undoubtedly will now remain in the future history of Cumnock Juniors Football Club” Stevie Farell, former manager ”A fantastic vision from the club house end of the park, the girls have done a fantastic job. If they want any more places to work on, please, please come back to my club. Townhead Park is a better place with this Mural on the back wall of the Kop” Rab Cree, Cumnock fan. "During a recent visit to my old club, I was so impressed with the art work in the Kop end. Congratulations to the guys & gals involved” Chris Fahey, former keeper of Cumnock Juniors & present player/ coach of Stranraer. “The mural is smashing. The girls are very artistic and the finished article has really given a lift to Townhead Park. Well done to them” Andy Jack. Cumnock fan “Girls you have made a fantastic difference to that area of the park and your work is greatly appreciated thank you very much” Alex Hodge, Cumnock fan “Thanks very much for involving us in the painting of the mural. It was great fun and we have been showing our friends it and they think it is great” Reese McCulloch (7) and Max McCulloch (5). Cumnock fans and helpers on the day 82