In August of 2022, activists with California’s Bike East Bay set up temporary protected bike lanes in three locations across the city of San Leandro in just under 24 hours. They used their own tools, markings, and supplies. The collective effort cost around $20,000 and was a part of a larger attempt to secure city funding for permanent bike lanes as well as drum up citizen support for other ongoing projects that would increase pedestrian safety and transit equity within the city.

Taken in an individual context, the project — which was a resounding success — proves remarkable, but it also tells a larger story about a growing phenomenon: guerilla urbanism.

Tactical Urbanist’s Guide defines guerilla urbanism as “a city, organizational, and/or citizen-led approach to neighborhood building using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions to catalyze long-term change.”

What guerilla urbanism looks like in practice varies by community and need. Here are a few examples:

  • Guerilla gardening is the act of raising plant beds on under-utilized land and abandoned urban sites.
  • Pop-up bike lanes, like the ones created by Bike East Bay, help to boost bicycle traffic while keeping cyclists safe.
  • Open Streets are city-wide programs that temporarily open streets to people by closing them to cars.

While it’s still being shaped and defined, the growing movement around guerilla urbanism highlights key lessons in how we can safely build, shape, and sustain more fulfilled autonomous communities. What lessons can we learn from these community innovations?

Unfortunately, for many North American cities, the current urban reality reflects the ills Jacobs rallied so hard against. Social isolation, urban decline, and curtailed mobility are all still evident. On a systemic, structural level, fixing these issues often is not a priority because the people they affect most are not a priority.

This is especially clear in lower-class racialized urban communities. Decades-long divestment from community infrastructure (like public transit, gardens and green space, libraries, mixed-use public space, affordable housing, etc.) have left gaps in the physical and social lives of urban residents.

A lot is being done to address these issues, with many up-and-coming urban planners and developers focusing their work on promoting equity, inclusion, sustainability, and circularity. But as we continue to reimagine our cities and the ways we can improve them, challenges persist. How can community-led innovations fit into this work? And what role can activated citizens play in addressing these ongoing challenges?

Read the full article about guerilla urbanism by Zanetta Jones at Shareable.