Pop-Up Parks
Toolbox for the interim use of vacant
urban space
Vacant urban space is a significant untapped resource. Pop-Up Parks
look to utilise these spaces for public benefit, creating appropriate and
beneficial projects in association with developers and local
communities.
Introduction
Pop-Up Parks are a timely project. They depend upon a specific alignment of socioeconomic and political attitudes, developed in the post-recessional malaise, driving a
desire for perceived progress in economic development through improvement of the
physical environment. They could play an important role in the physical and social
improvement of urban environments and the perpetuation of regeneration activities, tying
in closely with the contemporarily flourishing political drive towards local activism and
community empowerment.
Pop-Up Parks intends to reinvigorate marginal and vacant land within urban areas,
focusing specifically on the interim use of demolition land for projects of public benefit. It
seeks to improve aesthetic and productive value prior to redevelopment, through minimal
physical intervention. Vacant urban land can become a blight when sites are neglected
through lack of funding or ineffective management practises and where a lack of a sense
of community ownership is allowed to prevail. With direct community consultation and
minimal, considered landscape intervention these sites can provide rewarding community
centres which can become partly or fully self-maintaining.
This toolbox comprises the results of research and consultation carried out over JulyAugust 2010. Research focuses upon existing and pending studies in to the uses and
potential of vacant urban land, as well as relevant policy documents and current case
studies. Consultation was sought with representatives of Groundwork UK, Groundwork
North East, Sunderland City Council, Gateshead City Council, Bridging Newcastle
Gateshead, Gentoo and KAPOK Berlin.
Carla-Leanne Washbourne
Aug 2010
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Why?
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Engage and empower communities
Improve local environment / biodiversity
Improve site aesthetics and prospects
Reduce illegal / antisocial use
Derelict sites pose immediate, specific problems to owners, developers, local authorities
and nearby communities. Aesthetic decline and unauthorised access are particularly
problematic and tend to be strongly correlated. When development does not progress
rapidly, the aesthetics of an unmanaged site often decline rapidly, seemingly encouraging
further irresponsible usage. ‘Pop-Up Parks’ would not only look to address and reduce
these issues through effective landscaping and ongoing management schemes,
reinforcing a sense of site ownership, but would add value to the land by providing
additional local benefits.
Where?
Physical Factors
Setting:
History:
Demographic:
Practical Factors
Site preparation:
Management:
Legal:
Location
Size
Topography
Geology
Hydrogeology
Hydrology
Previous use and contamination
Interim use
Planned future uses
Industrial / commercial / residential
Nature of residential community
Clearance stage
Recycling of onsite materials
Pre-demolition involvement (engagement /
investment)
Security
Maintenance
Landowners
Health and Safety
Liability Insurance
Site selection must be carried out with due care in order to ensure that the vacant land in
question is inherently suitable for temporary development. Due to the low budget and lack
of potential for large-scale physical intervention, sites which present severe difficulties for
stabilisation, or safe and creative development, are unlikely to be suitable for this scheme.
The factors presented in the table above should be considered and used to determine
whether the site is likely to pose any specific problems or opportunities for interim use.
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What?
A ‘vision’ is required, of what the interim site use will ultimately be. The vision for the site
should be determined by landowners and Groundwork in consultation with community
groups and stakeholders. Developments on the ground would be strongly dictated by
existing physical and practical characteristics of the site as discussed in the previous
section. The table below presents a number of possible project ‘themes’; starting points
which could be expanded through consultation.
Art
Showcase space for artists in residence
‘Art Parks’: Art as architecture
Ecology / Green
Infrastructure
Wild-space / Biodiversity areas
Green corridors
Tree nurseries
Allotments / Urban farming
Environment / Climate
Change
Water management (SUDs)
Biomass production
Bioremediation
Education
Recycled art projects
Environmental awareness / Biodiversity studies
Healthy play
Play / Leisure
High quality, multipurpose open space
Community
Community space
Volunteering / management opportunities
Temporary commercial
uses
Flea markets
Car boot sales
Farmers markets
How?
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Short term ‘meanwhile’ leases
Small-scale funding (charitable and community)
Creative use of demolition budgets
Reclamation of materials
Local involvement / community empowerment
Sites can generally be attained from local authority or private owners on short-term lease
agreements, to fill in the required time prior to development. A meanwhile lease has been
developed by CLG to provide a definitive legal agreement to support meanwhile land use.
Pop-Up Parks would operate at a minimal budget using development agreements and
small-scale funding from relevant bodies, attained either through Groundwork directly or
through support of applications by involved community groups. The funding source will
certainly be related to the ultimate ‘vision’ of the site. There must also be a focus on
recycling and reclaiming materials and including local volunteers and community groups
wherever possible through planning to implementation.
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Who?
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Local Authority
Developer
Third Sector Organisations
Community Groups
Volunteers
Landscape design of the site will be carried out by Groundwork or the landowner,
especially where this is a local authority, depending upon existing agreements for design,
implementation and management of land and development schemes. Development of the
sites is likely to be at the discretion of owners or major stakeholders, be these local
authorities or private developers. Work onsite will be carried out with the support of
Groundwork’s land and volunteer teams where this is applicable. Large-scale landscaping
would require subcontracting, however the majority of site works are likely to be carried out
by community groups or other volunteers within part of a wider community engagement
strategy.
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What Would Groundwork Bring to the Project…?
Groundwork has a strong background in community engagement, education and social
activism. This is recognised by all local authority partners and developers consulted during
this research; Groundwork is a preferred partner for carrying out the community
consultation / engagement and ongoing development with respect to Pop-Up Park style
projects, even where the landscaping is designated to be carried out in-house.
Pop-Up Parks provide an opportunity for the interaction of many of Groundwork’s current
delivery areas. The land design team will be required to provide visualisation of the sites
and may be required to provide detailed designs where these are not carried out in-house
by developers, while much of the implementation could be undertaken by existing youth
teams, Green Teams or engaged community groups.
Land Design:
Whilst all local authorities and large developers consulted on this project would prefer to
involve their own landscape design and planning teams on any interim projects of this
type, in-house designs may be provided by Groundwork Land team for small, private
developers.
Groundwork’s land team are also able to provide landscaping services for development
sites. Large-scale landscaping would need to be contracted to specialist agents; however,
small-scale activities could be carried out by in-house teams such as the Green Team in
the North East, and through engagement and training of local volunteers.
Youth Team Work:
The Youth Team have a record of success in harnessing the involvement of young people
in community projects. Where applicable, the Youth Team could be critical in engaging
potential users of the site in a volunteering context, or in order to encourage positive
perception and use of the interim site.
Many of the proposed Pop-Up Park project ‘visions’ tie in closely with the ideas of
community empowerment, positive management and education which could be useful
engagement themes for the Youth Team.
Community Work:
Consultation with many of the local authority bodies and developers has illustrated a
desire for Groundwork to contribute heavily to the community engagement aspect of the
Pop-Up Parks project. Decisions would have to be taken as to the best means by which to
engage a community. This would vary depending upon the community demographic and
should take in to account the existence of any existing residents associations, community
groups or other local interest groups. These groups may provide and existing base of
project ideas in order to inform the site ‘vision’ and could also act as an access point to the
wider community.
Initial community consultation may be facilitated by the developer, as is likely to be the
case for larger developers and local authorities consulted, or may be taken from grassroots level by initial contact from Groundwork with relevant groups / persons in the local
area.
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A Basic Chronology for the Development of a Pop-Up Park
Whilst it is difficult to determine a fixed chronology for the way in which a Pop-Up Park
development should be approached, a number of basic steps can be recommended which
should be relevant irrespective of the size, setting or ownership of the site;
1. Identification of site
Identify potential development site through consultation with large developers, local
authorities or regeneration bodies. Carry out desk study of site and carry out a site
walkover where possible. Assess physical and practical suitability of the site for a low-cost,
interim use. Assess the potential for inclusion of materials reclaimed from the site.
2. List project aims and objectives
Create a list of project aims and objectives from the perspective of the developer /
landowner, in order to assess potentially effective approaches for addressing site issues
and exploiting its opportunities.
3. Write project plan
Create a project plan which takes in to consideration findings of the desk study, project
aims and objectives, likely duration of the project and preliminary budget estimates.
Preliminary stock designs could be included to improve visualisation. An exit strategy
should be incorporated in order to demonstrate to the developer that any landscaping can
be easily decommissioned at the end of the project
4. Community consultation
Community consultation should be carried out with facilitation by developers or local
authorities where possible. Community groups and other local stakeholders should be
identified and consulted at an early stage in order to address ideas and concerns. This
consultation may form several stages of assessment and design alteration.
5. Design
Landscape designs for the site should be created taking in to consideration all preceding
steps, including the inclusion / exclusion of feasible specific elements identified during the
consultation process.
6. Implementation / Mobilisation
Landscaping of the site should be broken down in to a suitable time-plan and carried out
by private contractors where required and volunteer labour where at all possible.
7. Decommissioning
The site should be decommissioned according to the original exit strategy where possible.
This should be carried out in consultation with the site owners, using similar labour
streams to the implementation. Care should be taken to ensure maintenance of community
expectations over this period with respect to the new development.
8. Evaluation
Through a structured evaluation process, strength and weaknesses of the concept can be
elucidated for each project; in the long term, assessing the efficacy of a variety of different
schemes.
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A Generalised Process for the Creation of a Pop-Up Park
Project
Community
Implementation
Identification of Site
Negotiations with
Owner
Agree Duration of
Site License
Reconnaissance of
Site
Consultation with
Local Community
Assess Reclamation
Potential
Create Project Plan
Consultation with
Local Community
Initial Landscape
Design
Integrated
Landscape Design
Consultation with
Local Community
Site Preparation
Involvement in
Practical Project
Implementation
Involvement in
Maintenance of Site
Interim Development
of Site
Maintenance of Site
Handover of Site
Final
Development
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