All over the world, cities are using “tactical urbanism” to create temporary pop-up bike lanes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost overnight, the cycling infrastructure that people have campaigned years for has appeared at next to no cost.

Indeed, of the few positives to take from such an imaginable global disaster, this is certainly among them. It proves just what’s possible when there’s a sudden demand for it and can hopefully set a precedent for safe space cycling once we eventually get through this.

What Does “Tactical Urbanism” Mean?

Tactical urbanism is about creating cheap (normally temporary) changes to urban areas in order to improve neighbourhoods. This can include the created of temporary bicycle lanes. It’s sometimes also referred to as “pop-up urbanism”, “DIY urbanism” or “guerilla urbanism”.

Let’s take a look at how the measures taken by these six places, and the varying degrees of success they have each enjoyed:

Where Are Pop-Up Bike Lanes Appearing Around the World?