Urban Design Transformation: Placemaking, Co-creation, and Tactical Urbanism as an Emergent Professional Practice

Dear Colleagues,

Urban design is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the imperative to create more livable, inclusive, and sustainable cities. This paradigm shift is characterized by the emergence of innovative practices such as placemaking, co-creation, and tactical urbanism, which empower communities to actively participate in shaping their urban environments. This Special Issue explores the intersection of these practices as an emergent professional approach in urban design.

Placemaking, the art of creating vibrant and authentic public spaces, lies at the heart of urban design transformation. By prioritizing the needs and aspirations of local communities, placemaking fosters a sense of belonging and identity, redefining the way we experience and interact with urban spaces. Co-creation complements placemaking by embracing collaborative processes that engage diverse stakeholders in the design and planning of cities. Through inclusive decision-making and participatory design methods, co-creation ensures that urban interventions reflect the collective vision and values of the community.

Tactical urbanism offers a nimble and adaptable approach to urban design, empowering citizens to reclaim and activate underutilized spaces through low-cost, temporary interventions. By testing ideas on a small scale and soliciting feedback from the community, tactical urbanism enables rapid prototyping and iterative design, leading to more responsive and user-centric urban environments. Together, these practices represent a holistic approach to urban design that prioritizes people over cars, creativity over conformity, and community over commerce.

This Special Issue examines the synergies and tensions between placemaking, co-creation, and tactical urbanism, and conventional formats, exploring how these practices can be integrated into a cohesive professional framework for urban design. It includes the question of educating practitioners and addresses questions of knowledge transfer to involved actors. By drawing on case studies and best practices from around the world, it highlights the transformative potential of these approaches to address pressing urban challenges such as social inequality, environmental degradation, and economic stagnation. Moreover, it critically considers the ethical implications of urban design transformation, emphasizing the importance of equity, diversity, and sustainability in shaping the future of our cities.

This Special Issue calls for a expanded focus on placemaking, co-creation, and tactical urbanism as essential tools for urban designers to navigate the complexities of the 21st-century city. By embracing a collaborative and inclusive approach to design, we can create cities that are not only functional and beautiful but also equitable and resilient. Through interdisciplinary dialogue and knowledge exchange, we can collectively advance the theory and practice of urban design, ensuring that our cities remain vibrant and livable for generations to come.

We invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to contribute to this Special Issue on "Urban Design Transformation: Placemaking, Co-creation, and Tactical Urbanism as an Emergent Professional Practice." We welcome original research papers, case studies, design proposals, and critical essays that explore the theoretical foundations, practical applications, and ethical implications of these innovative approaches to urban design.

Potential topics for contributions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Theoretical frameworks and conceptual models for integrating placemaking, co-creation, and tactical urbanism into urban design practice;
• Case studies of successful placemaking initiatives, co-creation processes, and tactical urbanism projects from diverse geographic and cultural contexts;
• Methodologies for engaging communities in the design and planning of urban spaces, including participatory design techniques, stakeholder mapping, and co-design workshops;
• Disruption practices and the required ethics and inclusion framework from both grass roots and conventional actor perspectives;
• Evaluation frameworks and performance metrics for assessing the social, economic, and environmental impact of placemaking, co-creation, and tactical urbanism interventions;
• Ethical considerations and best practices for promoting equity, diversity, and sustainability in urban design transformation;
• Frameworks for educating future practitioners in the tools and methods of co-creation, tactical urbanism, temporary urban interventions, and the participation of a multitude of actors;
• ⁠Strategies for overcoming institutional barriers and fostering collaboration between government agencies, community organizations, and private sector actors in urban design projects.

Dr. Fabian Neuhaus
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• urban design
• tactical urbanism
• placemaking
• temporary urbanism
• planning education
• co-creation
• collaboration
• stakeholder planning
• actors