From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool

This article explores progress in institutional efforts to use tactical urbanism as planning tool for driving a modal shift towards active travel in urban areas. Using a tried and tested framework for assessing transitional capacity of street experiments, this article reviews 92 semi-systematically...

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Main Authors: Jarvis Suslowicz, Helge Hillnhütter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001897
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author Jarvis Suslowicz
Helge Hillnhütter
author_facet Jarvis Suslowicz
Helge Hillnhütter
author_sort Jarvis Suslowicz
collection DOAJ
description This article explores progress in institutional efforts to use tactical urbanism as planning tool for driving a modal shift towards active travel in urban areas. Using a tried and tested framework for assessing transitional capacity of street experiments, this article reviews 92 semi-systematically selected academic works, most covering a range of temporary street-space reallocation projects linked by a common purpose of supporting a shift to active travel modes. It confirms that although tactical urbanism is now widely used to carve out space for walking and cycling, particularly with the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, most projects still encounter difficulty in transitioning towards later-stage outcomes, with common blockages appearing throughout: (1) the temporariness of funding schemes and networks of governance; (2) deficient strategic foresight into the transition towards a long-term vision for mobility; (3) inadequate engagement with both supporters and critics of change; and (4) inattention to network principles of urban mobility otherwise considered in their permanent counterparts. Though critical, the review highlights cases which viably use tactical urbanism as a step towards long-term, large-scale change, with weaknesses presented as focal points for awareness by practitioners hoping to utilise tactical urbanism for this purpose.
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spelling doaj-art-edf225f00bbc4b9abd68192a7218c44e2025-08-22T04:57:43ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822025-07-013210151010.1016/j.trip.2025.101510From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning toolJarvis Suslowicz0Helge Hillnhütter1Corresponding author.; Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Alfred Getz vei 3, Trondheim, NorwayDepartment of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Alfred Getz vei 3, Trondheim, NorwayThis article explores progress in institutional efforts to use tactical urbanism as planning tool for driving a modal shift towards active travel in urban areas. Using a tried and tested framework for assessing transitional capacity of street experiments, this article reviews 92 semi-systematically selected academic works, most covering a range of temporary street-space reallocation projects linked by a common purpose of supporting a shift to active travel modes. It confirms that although tactical urbanism is now widely used to carve out space for walking and cycling, particularly with the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, most projects still encounter difficulty in transitioning towards later-stage outcomes, with common blockages appearing throughout: (1) the temporariness of funding schemes and networks of governance; (2) deficient strategic foresight into the transition towards a long-term vision for mobility; (3) inadequate engagement with both supporters and critics of change; and (4) inattention to network principles of urban mobility otherwise considered in their permanent counterparts. Though critical, the review highlights cases which viably use tactical urbanism as a step towards long-term, large-scale change, with weaknesses presented as focal points for awareness by practitioners hoping to utilise tactical urbanism for this purpose.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001897Tactical urbanismActive travelParticipatory planningMobility transition
spellingShingle Jarvis Suslowicz
Helge Hillnhütter
From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Tactical urbanism
Active travel
Participatory planning
Mobility transition
title From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
title_full From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
title_fullStr From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
title_full_unstemmed From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
title_short From temporariness to mobility futures: A review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
title_sort from temporariness to mobility futures a review of progress in tactical urbanism as an active travel planning tool
topic Tactical urbanism
Active travel
Participatory planning
Mobility transition
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001897
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