Temporary and Tactical Urbanism as Drivers of Alternative Forms of Urban Transformations: A Research-Led Exhibition in Huddersfield as a Live and Exploratory Project

A research-led exhibition named ‘Temporary-Tactical Urbanism’ and hosted by the platform Temporary-Contemporary took place in Huddersfield’s Queensgate Market in 2019. It highlighted common grounds among various approaches with a specific focus on cities and towns after the 2008 financial crisis. In fact, it is not easy to navigate and make a distinction between Temporary, Tactical, Do-It-Yourself, Guerrilla Urbanism and other current forms of communication or interpretation of how towns and cities are transforming. Most of these strategies address similar challenges, but each offers different perspectives and tactics.

How have towns and cities reacted to this crisis, especially in the short term, and through low-cost, bottom-up, community-led and sometimes radical or unsolicited forms of (alternative) urban transformation?

This essay builds on experience gained through a variety of teaching and research activities developed since 2015. It includes field trips, design workshops, research symposia and conferences, all related directly or indirectly to the exploration of key concepts in current practices of urbanism and urban design.

The exhibition also poses a question about Huddersfield Town Centre and shows documents and reflections on that area. Open to multiple options and tactics and accessible for the wider public to reflect on as part of a collective exercise, the work on display embraced a bottom-up approach to urban change.