Items Tagged ‘temporary use’
Detroit: Embracing The Ruins
Synopsis:
Rather than tearing down its vacant buildings or pooling large sums of money to revitalize only a handful, Aaron Renn has another option for Detroit. Utilize the revitalization money to stabilize a majority of the vacant buildings. The city can then sew these properties together as a large tourist destination. Renn’s temporary use proposal provides multiple benefits: maintains the buildings for potential reuse down the road; makes the buildings more enticing to future developers; de-blights the properties; makes the sites active pieces of the city; enables the community (and tourists) to the see the opportunity in the buildings rather than just the problems. Detroit is at a serious crossroads right now. The opportunity is immense. Hopefully the city does not turn its back on those spaces that have helped to define it.
Empty Lot Syndrome
Synopsis:
Tod Newcombe looks at the growing trend in temporary urbanism, picking up speed due to the present economic situation. Municipalities and activist groups are finding ways to fill vacant lots and buildings with active temporary uses such as parks, outdoor markets, short-term retail outlets and event locations. These efforts help to ensure that the property and the surrounding neighborhood continue to “live” while the economy gets back on track.
Terry Schwarz, an urban planner with the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, one of Pop-Up City’s partners, describes her approach to temporary urbanism as short-term, high-impact efforts to draw public attention to underutilized areas. “Temporary use of vacant lots is not a new concept,” she says. “What’s new is the idea of harnessing the power of a temporary event or use of empty space on a large scale.”…The goal’s to look beyond temporary use, beyond the next big development project and to engage the public about their city’s future, which is changing, even shrinking.
Myriad Ideas To Fill Void Of Empty Lots
Synopsis:
With the present economic situation, many development projects have been put on hold due to lack of financing. The city of San Francisco is taking a pro-active approach regarding these sites. With the proposed “green development agreement,” developers can build if the land is used in ways that offer visual, environmental or cultural benefits until construction begins. It offers the developer and the community to utilize the land while financing is secured for the previously-approved project. Some temporary uses include: gardens, portable tree forestry, public gathering areas.
Officials Consider Sioux City Plant Purchase
Publication Date:
January 28, 2010Written By:
The Associated PressSource:
The New York TimesRead more...
Synopsis:
With the recent closure of a meatpacking plant in Sioux City, state and local officials are moving fast on potential adaptive reuse measures. Although they are also considering tearing down the structure to redevelop the land, the plant could be reused. The concern lies in the fact that it’s a dominant structure within a prime location. It’s currently considered out-of-date for its present use. While a new concept for the land could take years to develop as well as finance, the city and state should consider adapting the building (with cheap, temporary methods) that could open it up to light industry or office space. Doing so would allow the building to continue to be an active part of the neighborhood and city as well as keep the economic engine running.
Ad-Hoc Use : Fleeting Design
Synopsis:
Scott Page suggests that it may be beneficial for communities to start thinking about temporary use. Similar to adaptive reuse, temporary use finds ways to utilize abandoned property with little or no money. This can be seen as a stepping stone to the eventual adaptive reuse of the building. Ad-hoc use proponents suggest that communities should just “do it.” “Many communities have built capacity and strong local leadership by just going out there and doing things.” Communities could have charrettes to brainstorm how certain buildings could be used easily to serve some need. These charrettes can help the residents, planners, and designers to “start seriously talking about both the long-term issue of industrial use but also the short-term reuse of vacancy.”