-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Hardy <[log in to unmask]>

_The Journal of Urbanism_ - Call for Papers
Special Issue: DIY Urbanism
Guest Editor, Donovan Finn, PhD, Stony Brook University

A new attitude toward public space is emerging in cities across the globe.
Though certainly not a new phenomenon, citizens are increasingly using urban
space to advance political and social justice goals through protest,
occupation, unsanctioned modification, and other means. Of particular
relevance to planners, urban designers and local policymakers are the
actions called, variously, do-it-yourself (DIY), tactical or guerilla
urbanism. DIY activities engage the increasingly blurry distinctions between
design and activism through which individual actors have become increasingly
empowered to create and implement low cost interventions in public space
aimed at solving fine-grained urban dilemmas. Though often illegal or at
best unsanctioned, DIY interventions are increasingly lauded within certain
activist segments of the planning, design and social justice communities as
pragmatic and fiscally prudent approaches to addressing unmet needs of urban
residents in the face of municipal fiscal crises, increasing privatization
of public space and other recent trends.

DIY efforts offer a unique opportunity to celebrate citizen-based action and
make urban spaces more vibrant, sustainable and user-friendly. But such
unsanctioned interventions also raise important questions and issues for
planners, designers and local governments as they seek to provide safe,
equitable access to urban infrastructure, amenities and resources.
Additionally, quasi-DIY tactics are sometimes co-opted by local governments,
thus complicating their allure as forms of grassroots expression or dissent.

This special issue of _The Journal of Urbanism_ on the topic "DIY Urbanism"
seeks to better understand this phenomenon as it is playing out in cities
across the globe, and to analyze these actions in ways that are useful for
practitioners tasked with shaping and managing urban public space. Although
the concept of DIY urbanism has been reported broadly in the popular press
and the internet blogosphere, there is thus far a dearth of scholarly
research on the topic. Thus, we encourage rigorous, well-researched
scholarship that heightens the level of analysis of this important topic,
critically examines the DIY phenomenon and investigates how a better
understanding of it can advance place making and urban policymaking locally
and globally.

Possible paper topics include:
* Historical, political and theoretical analyses of the DIY phenomenon
* DIY urbanism as a participatory planning tactic
* Potential harms and benefits of DIY approaches
* DIY urbanism as an environmental justice strategy
* DIY urbanism as a driver of economic development
* Implications of DIY tactics for creating sustainable local food systems
* Conflicts between DIY approaches and anti-gentrification and
anti-displacement efforts
* Utility of DIY urbanism as a trigger for local sustainability initiatives
* Implications of DIY approaches for the architecture, urban design and
planning professions
* Case studies or examples of DIY projects or tactics
* Implications of a burgeoning DIY mentality for planning, design and public
policy education
* Public health, public safety and mental health implications of various DIY
interventions
* Participation in DIY activities and associated impacts on social capital,
neighborhood cohesion, crime reduction and associated phenomena (as well as,
conversely, social conflict, division, disputes, etc.)
* Explication of the forces driving DIY efforts, including sociological
analysis of the DIY practitioner community

We welcome papers from multiple geographies, perspectives and scales, with
various methodological approaches. We encourage papers that investigate DIY
urbanism from different angles including theory, application, practice
implications, and education.

Submit your 5,000 - 6,000 word paper to the _Journal of Urbanism_ at
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com:80/rjou by November 1, 2012. On page 5 of
the submission process, on the "Details and comments" page, check "yes"
under "Is the manuscript a candidate for a special issue?" In the box, enter
"DIY Urbanism" as the special issue title.

For further information please contact Donovan Finn [log in to unmask] or
Emily Talen [log in to unmask]

Matthew Hardy
The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment
London, UK
http://www.princes-foundation.org/