The research project that is proposed is focused on the study of the urban interventions carried out by society and causing physical, political, technologic, or economic changes in cities; in particular, in complex cities such as New York. The issue that this project raises is a concept that has started to become increasingly important in the current situation of crisis. The three terms defining this type of processes were first employed in the field of urban studies around 2010: Tactical, Emergent or Bottom-Up Urbanism. In this writing the three terms will be used interchangeably.

It is also important to highlight that amongst all the cases that Tactical Urbanism describes, the project will pay special attention to the local social and urban processes occurring in the city where this program will be developed: New York. In particular, this work will focus its attention on the relationships between urban cases such as the Centre for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), North End (described by Jane Jacobs in the 60’s) or the Green Guerrillas movement (introduced in Manhattan by Liz Christy), amongst others. Together with this, the project will also pay attention to the ideas of people who is involved in this type of phenomena such as Pedro Gadanho (curator of the Moma’s exhibition on Tactical Urbanism, Uneven Growth) or Janette Sadik-Khan (commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation from 2007-2013).

The methodology of this project will be based on the field study of cases such as the Centre of Urban Pedagogy in New York or North End. Thus, the applicant will be immersed in the network that links this type of initiatives and will develop a series of diagrams and maps that make visible these movements, their connections and their history. The work also tries to find out how Tactical Urbanism transforms New York and the knowledge provided by these proposals will pave the way for future cities. In line with this, the project will try to find the answer to a series of questions about the potentialities –focusing on economic potentialities-, weaknesses, and utopian character of these initiatives.