Lentis/Guerrilla Urbanism

Introduction

Guerrilla urbanism (GU) is a form of community-based renovations in public spaces. Communities work to change how a space looks or feels. These changes are not necessarily legal, and groups may start renovations without permission in hopes to receive them after. Although public art is the most common example, other forms of guerrilla urbanism can have political motivations behind them. They can seek out policy changes from the ground up, instead of waiting on institutional change. Social media has allowed for more rapid development of guerrilla urbanism. Guerrilla art can be spread faster, getting more people involved and informed. Movements typically begin from smaller communities but have the potential to become a widespread phenomenon.

Background

Guerrilla Urbanism vs. Tactical Urbanism

While also called tactical urbanism, there is a difference in connotation behind “guerrilla” versus “tactical”. Guerrilla is “suggestive of guerrillas especially in being aggressive, radical, or unconventional”.  In contrast, tactical is “adroit in planning or maneuvering to accomplish a purpose”. Both are related to achieving a goal, but guerrilla has a combative nature and implies a power imbalance. The contrast shows guerrilla urbanism being a rash action that derives from desperation, and tactical urbanism as a more sophisticated form of advocacy. The intentional word choice may also stem from many GU demonstrations being illegal, which adds to the aggressive and unconventional parts of guerrilla’s definition.

Motivations of Guerrilla Urbanism (GU)

Guerrilla Urbanism (GU) takes on many forms. Although policymakers are often involved in the process, that is not always the case. Most forms of GU come from community desire or concern. If the problem is large or important enough, policies are a common outcome of GU demonstrations.

Test or Show Viability of Projects

Policymakers are unlikely to carelessly spend money on social projects, so proof of viability is often needed. In Calgary, Canada, communities were given ActivateYYC microgrants to create temporary public spaces. After seeing the widespread participation, the project was handed over to the Federation of Calgary Communities.

Incite Public Discussion

In its most basic form, guerrilla urbanism can be a way to start conversation. A small group of citizens may have a concern or idea, and GU can be one way to attract attention to the issue. In Raleigh, NC, Walk Friendly Communities (WFC) created a program, Walk Raleigh, meant to bring support to increasing walkability. QR codes and a website were placed on 27 signs at 3 different intersections with information about WFC’s, and specifically Walk Raleigh’s, mission for creating walk friendly cities.

Make a Statement

Guerrilla Urbanism lets citizens change their communities or express concerns to others. These expressions are usually artistic and large or very prominent. In Porirua, New Zealand, the citizens living and working on Fantame Street used planter boxes, paintings, and public seating to warn drivers to slow down. This changed the dangerous and crash-prone street into a safe one.

Mobilize Action

Guerrilla urbanism can be caused by citizens being unhappy with government action, or lack thereof. GU demonstrations allow communities to show governments the issues that are important to their community, and where policy change should be focused. Some cases are a community’s last resort to push for policies after being ignored by policymakers. In Miami, FL, parking medians on Biscayne Boulevard were changed into a public space. The Florida Department of Transportation eventually granted funding towards plans to make the change permanent.

Guerrilla Urbanism Around the World

There are many common examples of guerrilla urbanism throughout the world. Communities exist in every country that create the changes they want to see, even without permission. These communities often risk arrest in pursuit of their agenda.

Guerrilla gardening in London

Richard Reynolds is a prominent figure in the guerrilla gardening community in London. He created his own blog, GuerrillaGardening.org to help spread pictures and plans of “troop digs” to anyone interested. The goal of these digs are to beautify neglected public spaces through gardening. They usually consist of trash removal, then planting late at night so people don’t see the change until the next day. The blog lists some of their biggest accomplishments, such as the planting in the Elephant & Castle Roundabout and “seed bombing” the Tate Modern in Southwark, London.

Reynolds has been a guerrilla gardener since October 2004, the first time he illicitly gardened in London. Guerrilla gardening falls under a gray part of the law. It’s illegal, as it is changing public or private property without permission, but many officials are supportive of Reynold’s actions. When David Noakes, the councilor of the London Borough of Southwark, was asked about Reynolds, he said “Generally I’m supportive of what Richard’s doing. He’s providing an example of the kind of member of a community that we want”. However, Reynolds has been approached by the police before in one of his troop digs. A group of guerrilla gardeners were confronted by the police as they worked on a traffic circle close to Reynolds building. The police threatened to arrest Reynolds for causing “criminal damage" Even with the threat of arrest, the group still finished the job over the course of the night.

Guerrilla gardeners push the boundary of legality for a noble cause. They personally risk arrest to make the community more beautiful. According to Reynolds, the goal is to “fight the filth with forks and flowers”.

Bike Lanes in Brussels

In Brussels, Belgium, the city has taken its own measures of guerrilla urbanism in building bike lanes. In September 2021, almost overnight, the Rue de la Loi - the central-most street to several major government buildings (including the office of the Prime Minister, among other Belgian and EU offices) - was transformed from a four-lane motorway to having space marked off for cycle paths. Before waiting on the permits to officially clear, Belgian officials took to unofficially marking out bicycle lanes along the roads after the plan had been approved of in Parliament. The intent is to introduce the lanes to Brussels citizens without having to wait for official clearance, and let the people adapt as soon as possible. Olliver Willocx, from the Brussels Enterprises Commerce and Industry (BECI) states that "...this latest feat is an extreme example of the 'guerrilla urbanism' that the environmental movement is so fond of using to speed up radical measures and infrastructure works".

While the bicycle lanes are not yet officially built with elevated markings physically separating them from vehicle traffic, they are still an informal recognition of the city's need to change. The city had implemented stricter speed limits of 20 km/h to protect pedestrians and other non-automobile users of the road (including bicyclists). Drivers enjoyed up to 12 meters of width to drive through, while cyclists only had 5.5 meters. Concerns arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, with cyclists crammed into that narrow of a space breathing closely to each other, and so came the decision to expand the bike lanes, accompanied by other reasons. Traffic safety is another major concern in the area. Bart Dhondt, Brussels alderman, states "in general, 70% of motorists drive too fast [in the Rue de la Loi], which is why we are making traffic safety an absolute priority. These cycle paths are just a continuation of that". The dedicated cycling paths are being built to protect cyclists from automobile traffic, and no time was spent waiting for the permits to clear - Brussels government officials signed off on laying down temporary markings, and will be built over with proper construction efforts later. "The analysis established that the Rue de la Loi has a serious problem with road safety".

Societal Impact

As mentioned prior, guerrilla urbanism is an informal process of change in a community, not processed via government bureaucracy or passed through formal elections and committees; it is direct action taken out, via the or catering towards the will of the people. The changes and suggestions guerrilla urbanism may suggest to a community are not always readily apparent. As with Reynolds' guerrilla gardening project or Brussels' project to improve biking viability in the central streets of the city were not immediately vocalized concerns of their respective communities, or at least not directly raised to anyone in particular. These ill-addressed issues of the community are realized by the efforts made by guerrilla urbanism and brought to attention. The efforts made by guerrilla urbanists may not always be complete answers to problems facing a community - Richard Reynolds doesn't intend to single handedly clean up torn down lots via his and his cooperators own efforts, the city of Brussels don't intend to use the bike markings for a long period of time before putting down permanent structures - but they illustrate a way forward.