Dear colleagues,
Please find below a call for paper for a special session "Tactical
urbanism, active mobilities and public space in the Covid pandemic” in
the frame of the international conference of the Royal Geographical
Society with the Institute of British Geographers (1-3 Sept. 2021).
Best wishes,
Patrick
Prof Patrick Rérat
Observatory for cycling and active mobilities
University of Lausanne
[log in to unmask]
Tactical urbanism, active mobilities and public space in the Covid pandemic
The Covid-19 crisis has prompted many public authorities to rethink
public and road spaces to promote means of transport that are both
efficient and adapted to the health context. The creation of temporary
cycle paths was initiated in South American cities such as Bogota.
They appeared as a simple and inexpensive way to meet health
requirements while avoiding the negative consequences of a modal shift
towards the automobile and of a desertion of public transport.
Since these first implementations, local authorities around the globe
have created temporary or pop-up cycle paths or extended public
spaces. By doing so they have turned to "tactical urbanism", i.e. the
installation of temporary layouts using street furniture easy to
install (and to remove). While tactical urbanism referred first to
grassroot movements, its principles have been adopted by public
authorities with the objectives to test new layouts of streets,
intersections or public spaces.
This session seeks to address the implementation of tactical urbanism,
its materiality and geography as well as its impacts and reception.
Selected papers will address one of the following questions:
• What kind of projects have been implemented? What are their materialities?
• What is the geography of tactical urbanism projects during the Covid
crisis both at the international and intra-urban scale?
• How do tactical urbanism projects relate to existing planning
policies/tools? How are they made compatible with traditional
approaches? How do they shed light on local dynamics in terms of
mobility and planning policies?
• What are the roles of grassroot movements and civil society? How
have they turned to tactical urbanism?
• How tactical urbanism can be regarded as a circulating planning
model? How do its principles and key ideas circulate between places?
• What were the impacts of tactical urbanism measures on spatial
practices (e.g. increase in cycling, diversity in public space use)?
Which social groups have benefited from them?
• How were these measures received? What political / social groups
contested them and according to which rationale?
Please send your abstract of no more than 250 words including a title,
and the names, affiliations and email addresses of all authors to the
session organisers ([log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask])
by 1st March 2021.
We hope to be able to organize the session in London depending on the
health situation. Please indicate whether you expect to present in
person or remotely. (Confirmation by the conference organisers of
whether in-person elements will be possible is due in April.)
Convenors:
Nathalie Ortar, ENTPE-Laboratoire Aménagement Economie Transports,
University of Lyon, France, [log in to unmask]
Patrick Rérat, Observatory for Cycling and Active Mobilities &
Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne,
Switzerland, [log in to unmask]
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