DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY) URBANISM
\nSpecial issue of _The Journal of Urbanism_
\nGuest Editor, Donovan Finn, PhD, Stony Brook University<\/p>\n
Deadline: 1 November, 2012<\/p>\n
A new attitude toward public space is emerging in cities across the globe. Though certainly not a new phenomenon, citizens are increasingly using urban space to advance political and social justice goals through protest, occupation, unsanctioned modification, and other means. Of particular relevance to planners, urban designers and local policymakers are the actions called, variously, do-it-yourself (DIY), tactical or guerilla urbanism. DIY activities engage the increasingly blurry distinctions between design and activism through which individual actors have become increasingly empowered to create and implement low cost interventions in public space aimed at solving fine-grained urban dilemmas. Though often illegal or at best unsanctioned, DIY interventions are increasingly lauded within certain activist segments of the planning, design and social justice communities as pragmatic and fiscally prudent approaches to addressing unmet needs of urban residents in the face of municipal fiscal crises, increasing privatization of public space and other recent trends.<\/p>\n
DIY efforts offer a unique opportunity to celebrate citizen-based action and make urban spaces more vibrant, sustainable and user-friendly. But such unsanctioned interventions also raise important questions and issues for planners, designers and local governments as they seek to provide safe, equitable access to urban infrastructure, amenities and resources. Additionally, quasi-DIY tactics are sometimes co-opted by local governments, thus complicating their allure as forms of grassroots expression or dissent.
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\nThis special issue of _The Journal of Urbanism_ on the topic \u201cDIY Urbanism\u201d seeks to better understand this phenomenon as it is playing out in cities across the globe, and to analyze these actions in ways that are useful for practitioners tasked with shaping and managing urban public space. Although the concept of DIY urbanism has been reported broadly in the popular press and the internet blogosphere, there is thus far a dearth of scholarly research on the topic. Thus, we encourage rigorous, well-researched scholarship that heightens the level of analysis of this important topic, critically examines the DIY phenomenon and investigates how a better understanding of it can advance place making and urban policymaking locally and globally.<\/p>\n
Possible paper topics include:
\n\u2022 Historical, political and theoretical analyses of the DIY phenomenon;
\n\u2022 DIY urbanism as a participatory planning tactic;
\n\u2022 Potential harms and benefits of DIY approaches;
\n\u2022 DIY urbanism as an environmental justice strategy;
\n\u2022 DIY urbanism as a driver of economic development;
\n\u2022 Implications of DIY tactics for creating sustainable local food systems;
\n\u2022 Conflicts between DIY approaches and anti-gentrification and anti-displacement efforts;
\n\u2022 Utility of DIY urbanism as a trigger for local sustainability initiatives;
\n\u2022 Implications of DIY approaches for the architecture, urban design and planning professions;
\n\u2022 Case studies or examples of DIY projects or tactics;
\n\u2022 Implications of a burgeoning DIY mentality for planning, design and public policy education;
\n\u2022 Public health, public safety and mental health implications of various DIY interventions;
\n\u2022 Participation in DIY activities and associated impacts on social capital, neighborhood cohesion, crime reduction and associated phenomena (as well as, conversely, social conflict, division, disputes, etc.);
\n\u2022 Explication of the forces driving DIY efforts, including sociological analysis of the DIY practitioner community.<\/p>\n
We welcome papers from multiple geographies, perspectives and scales, with various methodological approaches. We encourage papers that investigate DIY urbanism from different angles including theory, application, practice
\nimplications, and education.<\/p>\n
Submit your 5,000 \u2013 6,000 word paper to the Journal of Urbanism at http:\/\/mc.manuscriptcentral.com:80\/rjou
\nby November 1, 2012.<\/p>\n
On page 5 of the submission process, on the \u201cDetails and comments\u201d page, check \u201cyes\u201d under \u201cIs the manuscript a candidate for a special issue?\u201d In the box, enter \u201cDIY Urbanism\u201d as the special issue title.<\/p>\n
For further information please contact Donovan Finn donovanfinn@yahoo.com or Emily Talen etalen@gmail.com<\/p>\n
Emily Talen
\nProfessor, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
\nArizona State University
\nhttp:\/\/geoplan.asu.edu\/talen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY) URBANISM Special issue of _The Journal of Urbanism_ Guest Editor, Donovan Finn, PhD, Stony Brook University Deadline: 1 November, 2012 A new attitude toward public space is emerging in cities across the globe. Though certainly not a new phenomenon, citizens are increasingly using urban space to advance political and social justice goals through … <\/p>\n