When streets lay empty, sidewalks untouched, and shutters hung heavy, the city seems lost of life. When businesses close, offices go remote and economic activity declines, the mechanisms that operate a city are idle. Vacant space and land are often perceived as “failed”, reflecting urban decline and economic blight. Emptiness, however, holds hope for possibilities and change. When urban voids are at the brink of transformation, what happens in the meanwhile?
Any city is a witness to the constant cycle of development and vacancy, a natural phenomenon following economic and infrastructural advancement. Historically, vacant land - either abandoned or yet to be developed - has been a host to temporary appropriations for public use. Bottom-up urban initiatives for community spaces have been initiated by activists to bring unproductive space into effective use.
The Meanwhile Gardens in London is one such example of transitory urbanism guided by a communal vision of “taking what you can”. After a long struggle, permission to use the plot as a community garden was granted on a temporary basis as the governing council may want to employ it in the future. Around 50 years later, local residents continue to maintain, protect, and enjoy the garden which is unlikely to be developed by the council anytime soon.
The term meanwhile spaces refers to disused sites leased or loaned for a certain period of time by the public sector or developers to local community groups, art organizations, start-ups, and charities. These sites may be vacant or under-used shops, buildings, open spaces, or land. Temporary contracts allow community groups, small businesses, or individuals to pursue economic activity at below-market rates to generate social value for the neighborhood and its inhabitants.
Scenarios of under-used space are more pronounced in times of difficulties like economic recessions or more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the health crisis, meanwhile lease of space provided adaptive and practical uses. Hotels were rapidly turned into care centers and public spaces were retrofitted to support safe social activity and sharing of resources. Even after the lockdowns, when shops, banks, cinemas, and offices had moved online, their empty spaces blemished neighborhoods and city centers with a lack of public activity. Similar to the Meanwhile Gardens, meanwhile community spaces cropped up to strengthen the resilience of local organizations and public space.
The intent behind meanwhile spaces is to grow innovative ideas and empower the local community. Through interventions such as meeting areas, learning and training spaces, pop-up shops, eateries and exhibitions, urban areas and their communities witness positive transformation. The lease may last anywhere between a few days to a few years. The impact on localities may last up to a lifetime.
Exploring meanwhile use at scale, Les Grand Voisins - located in the former Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital, Paris - was developed as a space for the community to reconnect with society and work. The mixed-use project hosts a rentable space for entrepreneurs and creatives and a reimagined outdoor space to fit a program of artistic and cultural activities. Commercial pursuits like restaurants, shops, events, and campsites were introduced to help fund the project’s maintenance and management costs, occupying the site rent-free. The temporary space is currently shut down as the redevelopment of the hospital resumes. The imprint of Le Grand Voisins remains tangible at the site, and may influence future urban scenarios post-development.
Meanwhile spaces encourage entrepreneurship by decreasing the financial burden on local communities. Affordable spaces and flexible terms allow for diverse and experimental start-ups to flourish in the locality, thereby creating employment, public activity, and services that improve community cohesion and resilience. Meanwhile spaces promote the building of inclusive communities, enhancing social capital through local skills development and improving environmental outputs to advance health and wellbeing. Reactivating derelict spaces also helps reduce urban sprawl and inefficient development.
Apart from communities, these spaces benefit developers, land owners, and authorities as well. Leasing out space for interim use reduces the chance of unauthorized occupancy and brings in interim revenue. The short-term community space may serve as a source of income for the local economy while enhancing the appearance of the neighborhood and further attracting investment opportunities. Under such agreements between the tenant and the temporary occupant, paperwork and the project begin smoothly, making it easier to establish and remain successful.
In her book “Cities by Design: The Social Life of Urban Form”, sociologist Fran Tonkiss reminds urbanists that “urban contexts tend to change more quickly than the urban forms”. In this light, meanwhile spaces are an effective tool for urban regeneration, especially in times of drastic change. Through this approach, urban spatial voids are activated by reflecting the social demands and priorities of local communities as they evolve. The temporality of spatial use provides a safe foundation for testing ideas, building consensus and supporting communities in times of need.
Going forward, meanwhile spaces inspire urban activation efforts with their transitional abilities to create opportunities for long-term change. They instill a recognition that urban spaces must be developed appropriately, responding to the current and pressing needs of the community to gradually build resilient cities.
