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.
