Appropriation, interaction and conflict in temporary public space

Abstract

Temporary interventions in public space are becoming important tools for rethinking and changing urban environments. They prompt a more democratic approach to change because they facilitate knowledge around participation, appropriation and use of public space. From a case study approach, this paper will describe how temporary interventions can respond to new democratic needs while progressively generating new social life and a sense of place. This research will consider the Tory Street temporary project as a case study from which to extract applicable knowledge. The Tory Street project was the product of a partnership between Landscape Architecture/School of Architecture/Victoria University of Wellington (SoA/VUW) and Wellington City Council (WCC), New Zealand. Using participatory processes, the parties collectively designed and implemented a temporary intervention with local stakeholders. Research around new ways of decision-making and use of public space was developed from the case study. The analysis methodology of the use of a temporary public space innovates by using parametric data to highlight how time, environmental conditions and spatial components shape the type of users and activities. Through practice-based research, this paper showcases how the space was colonized and how a progressive sense of place was experienced. It presents how tensions arose between different types of users and how conflicts were minimized by introducing changes to the space. Finally, this research demonstrates the value of temporary interventions for developing more democratic approaches to urban change.