Temporary urban uses in response to COVID-19: bolstering resilience via short-term experimental solutions

There is now a well-developed research literature on the temporary use of land and buildings in cities around the world Research interest has focused in particular on experimental and inventive reuse of unused or under-used spaces, structures and infrastructure to accommodate a variety of cultural or creative activities The emergence of these new temporary uses has also provoked critical assessment, highlighting the role of short-term land use as a tactic to entrench developer interests by stabilizing land markets during periods of slack or legitimizing controversial development proposals Here, Deas et al highlight the ways in which the COVID-19 crisis has triggered multiple examples of the temporary reuse of land and buildings They highlight two challenges as the crisis evolves: how to employ temporary uses more effectively to create capacity for emergency uses and bolster resilience, and how to ensure that innovative or experimental land uses can continue to be supported in the context of future recovery