Tactical Urbanism: The New Vernacular of the Creative City

Abstract The recent infatuation of urban governance with the ideologies of creativity has led to many cities over the world being branded as ‘Creative Cities’. This policy drive has been problematised of late as a neoliberal agenda, which critics argue aids in the gentrification of cities. One reaction to this has been the proliferation of community‐orientated initiatives on a smaller scale that are (sometimes) conducted outside the official capacity of the city. So‐called Tactical Urbanism draws from such activity and therefore has become a popular movement for people who have a desire to change and reconfigure their city and do so without governmental involvement. Championed by the urbanist Mike Lydon, this paper charts how Tactical Urbanism has become a brand in itself, with the term being used by urban governments as a means of continuing neoliberal policies of urban development in a post‐2008 recessionary era. This paper will show how Tactical Urbanism is defenestrating the former, in favour of the latter. In so doing, it is fast becoming the latest political vernacular of the Creative City.