TURBO Resources
Get out there, organize your community, and make change in your neighborhood!
Whether or not it’s your first time learning about tactical urbanism as a solution, the following links should be used as a tool to create amazing displays of tactical urbanism that will influence positive change to the built environment.
You’ll find answers to the following questions and more: What goes into creating a pop-up park? What will the community have to invest to make this a reality? What are effective solutions for slowing traffic in residential neighborhoods? What are some successful examples?
Is your idea feasible? Estimate the costs here.
This catalog is designed to help estimate the costs associated with a TURBO project facilitated by The Civic Design Center. It is intended to help identify materials you may need, and brainstorm potential design ideas to enhance public spaces in your neighborhood. Because different locations will be better suited for some interventions, it is recommended that you consult with The Civic Design Center staff when identifying eligible design solutions. Similarly, final costs will vary based on specific design decisions, including the scale and intensity of the final design. Take this catalog with you to scope out underutilized sites in your neighborhood.
Resources to Inspire You
The Metro Nashville Traffic Calming Program (MTC) has been designed by Metro Public Works, with input from the Metro Planning Department, Metro Police Department and other Metro Agencies. The goal of this program is to create an improved street environment within neighborhoods that promote the safety of drivers, other road users, and neighborhood residents.
Tactical Urbanism Vol. 1
Short-term Action, Long-term Change
An intro to tactical urbanism.
Tactical Urbanism VOL. 2
More on tactical urbanism.
Tactical Urbanist's Guide to Materials and Design v.1.0
The only materials and design guidance for Tactical Urbanist demonstration, pilot, and interim design projects. Funded by the James L. Knight Foundation.
National Association of City Transportation Officials
NACTO’s mission is to build cities as places for people, with safe, sustainable, accessible and equitable transportation choices that support a strong economy and vibrant quality of life.
wikiblock
Wikiblock is an open-source toolkit of designs for benches, chairs, planters, stages, bus stops, beer garden fences, and kiosks that can be downloaded for free and taken to a makerspace where a CNC router (a computer-aided machine) can cut them out of a sheet of plywood. Most products can then be assembled without glue or nails, and used instantly to make a block better.
A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR POP-UP TRAFFIC CALMING
Slow Your Street: A How-To Guide for Pop-Up Traffic Calming was created by Trailnet in 2016 with the support, input, ideas, and inspiration of many individuals, organizations, and institutions. The guide is a toolkit created from the Plan4Health project with the support and guidance of the American Planning Association and American Public Health Association. The project team would like to thank all our community partners and those who offered feedback on the toolkit during development.
Intrigue & Uncertainty Towards New Traffic-Taming Tools
The goal of the book is to give cities and residents new tools to tame traffic, particularly around schools and in neighborhoods. However, taming traffic is really a means to an end: creation of vibrant neighborhoods, enrichment of the social and cultural life of the city and creation of a robust local economy. As we shall see, refocusing on these ends (rather than the means) may automatically tame traffic.
Insurgent Public Space
In cities around the world, individuals and groups are reclaiming and creating urban sites, temporary spaces and informal gathering places. These ‘insurgent public spaces’ challenge conventional views of how urban areas are defined and used, and how they can transform the city environment. No longer confined to traditional public areas like neighborhood parks and public plazas, these guerrilla spaces express the alternative social and spatial relationships in our changing cities.
The Planner’s Guide to Tactical Urbanism
The Planner’s Guide to Tactical Urbanism was prepared as part of a larger supervised research project during my MUP degree at the McGill School of Urban Planning (2013). The full project can be accessed through www.reginaurbanecology.com
The City of Fayetteville Tactical Urbanism Projects
The City of Fayetteville encourages citizens to develop their own Tactical Urbanism projects using our Guide and Permit Application. Projects completed by citizens will help to inform the City's planning and development processes.
Public Space Stewardship Guide
Street Plans, in collaboration with the San Francisco Planning Department and MJM Management Group, has released the Public Space Stewardship Guide, a living document that provides community groups and city leaders with models, case studies and ready-to-use tools for funding, programming and maintaining a successful public space.
Opposite to the 'top down' concept of urban design is BETTER BLOCK, founded in Dallas' Oak Cliff by Jason Roberts and Andrew Howard. The Better Block project is a demonstration tool that temporarily re-visions an area to show the potential to create a walkable, vibrant, neighborhood center. The idea and the charrettes to realize it have quickly spread to cities like Memphis, St. Louis, New York, and Boston. National media coverage includes NPR, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
