A JOURNEY THROUGH TEMPORARY USE EUROPEAN UNION European Regional Development Fund 1 This publication was made with the input and help of our project managers from the 10 Refill cities. The REFILL network and this publication were coordinated by the REFILL Lead Partner: the City of Ghent. REFILL coordinator: Emma Tytgadt City of Ghent - Policy Participation Unit Franklin Rooseveltlaan 1 9000 Ghent T. +329 266 56 28 [email protected] The REFILL network is coached by the lead expert: François Jégou and Marcelline Bonneau Strategic Design Scenarios Rue Dautzenberg 36-38 BE-1050 Brussels T. +32 495 24 33 http://www.strategicdesignscenarios.net/ The REFILL network is funded by Urbact, a program of the European Regional Development Fund: http://urbact.eu/ Read online about REFILL and temporary use: http://urbact.eu/REFILL https://refillthecity.wordpress.com/BLOG/ Graphic design by VOLTA.BE Cover picture: © STAD GENT 2 NEW USE OF VACANT SPACES SPURS INNOVATION ON A LOCAL LEVEL OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, MANY CITIES with temporary use and developed tools HAVE EXPERIMENTED WITH FINDING TEMPORARY accordingly, such as legislation, funds, USES FOR ABANDONED OR NEGLECTED SPACES financial tools, agencies, networks, (digital) AND BUILDINGS. THEIR EXPERIENCES SERVE AS A platforms and so on. SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION AND CHANGE IN OTHER CITIES WHERE TEMPORARY WHAT’S IN HERE? USE CAN ACT AS A DRIVER AND INCUBATOR FOR This publication compiles findings of the URBAN DEVELOPMENT. REFILL network. It is more manual than re- port, meant not to gather dust in a drawer WHAT IS TEMPORARY USE? FREEDOM FOR URBAN but to inspire a wider audience and be ac- Many of the initiatives at the onset of DEVELOPMENT tively used. Read it any way you wish: from these experiments have a bottom-up “Normal” rules do not apply to temporary beginning to end or in short bursts wherever structure. Some are SMEs, artists or use, leading to an unusual freedom from it falls open. You will find it chock full of craftsmen, organisations looking for meet- the constraints of mainstream manage- experiences from other cities, inspirational ing space or cultural initiatives. Others ment or exploitation of spaces. What looks cases and examples, lessons learnt and are residents who maintain plots of land like a no man’s land one moment, is trans- recommendations for tools and policies. or initiatives for urban farming, and yet formed the next into something new and others manage a community centre or are exciting, a way to see the city from a new HOW TO USE THE MAP looking for new forms of mobility. perspective. Freedom leads to inspiration, Fold open the included roadmap to explore and inspiration to innovation. key steps towards temporary use. Pick those In some cities, grassroots organisations stops that appeal to you and apply to your started experimenting with temporary REFILL own context, plan your trip and start your use with little political or administrative REFILL is a network of partnering cities: journey towards temporary use! The map intervention. Elsewhere, local authorities Amersfoort, Athens, Bremen, Cluj, Ghent, guides you through the tools in this publica- have actively looked for ways to facilitate Helsinki, Nantes, Ostrava, Poznan and tion, provided by the Refill network. this movement. Riga. Its goal is to unite experimented cities 3 01 LESSONS LEARNT 4 01 LESSONS LEARNT 5 © MAŁGORZATA KRAWCZYK © ADRIAN WYKROTA © STAD GENT 6 TEMPORARY USE OF VACANT URBAN SPACES: REFILL LESSONS LEARNT — FRANÇOIS JÉGOU, LEAD EXPERT #1. LEGAL FRAMEWORK gave the process an artistic twist with an works on technical requirements, public Temporary use should be recognised as a exploratory walk. Bremen used an existing access rules, fire and security standards practice by the municipal administration collaborative web platform whereas and so on to facilitate each temporary use and included in the legal frame of building Helsinki investigated how open data could project (see also: F01, p. 24). regulations. help in mapping vacant buildings. #2. BROKERING Some cities start by mapping vacant The cities then try to fit temporary use into Temporary use requires accurate, dedicat- buildings and highlighting their temporary the existing administrative structure and ed mediation between stakeholders and use potential. In Riga, urban activists legal framework. This sometimes requires support in the field for the entire duration marked locations with an Occupy Me some “legal creativity”. In Nantes for in- of the temporary use, and beyond. sticker (see also: C02, p. 40). Athens stance, the SAMOA development agency Temporary use requires brokering from the city administration between property owners and people or organisations looking for a space. The mediation should include all stakeholders: resident and mer- chants, urban planning experts, developers, architects and any others. To increase the visibility of temporary use, it may help to launch iconic projects as ambassadors to convince stakeholders. In Ghent, this strategy was backed up by an integrated communication strategy to connect with the neighbourhood and by evidence-based policy-making. REFILL TOOL #1: TEMPORARY USE FOR DUMMIES Brokering between stakeholders can take (VIDEO) on many forms. In Ghent and Amersfoort, civil servants act as neighbourhood man- agers (see also F08, p.31). Athens uses A friendly 5-minute video to spread the idea and save a lot of time! The video was co-designed by the REFILL partners to quickly explain what temporary use is and synAthina, an online platform in Athens what it is not. Find it online at: that connects the social innovation scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfZSYslqD9Y&feature=youtu.be. © STAD GENT In Bremen, a committee with members from relevant municipal departments takes 7 #4. TEMPORARY USE BECOMES NORMAL Temporary use is the new normal. Vacant urban spaces are no longer considered anomalies. As a result, temporary use is likely to develop further into a public service. REFILL cities’ experiences confirm that subsidies are always welcome, but also REFILL TOOL #2: STAKEHOLDER found several requirements for supporting services. It is useful to have a single point MATCH-MAKING METHODOLOGY of contact in the municipal administra- tion, a mentor to coach projects in the The REFILL matchmaking approach is a way to connect temporary use candi- long run, and a temporary use legal dates with different departments of the municipal administrations. They get to toolbox. The latter may contain contract know one another, find out about each other’s needs and maybe kick off new templates, insurance guidelines, licenc- collaborations. REFILL city partners co-developed this methodology, which was ing tips, etc. Such a flexible, tailor-made piloted and improved in Cluj, Poznan and Ghent. Find out more at: service requires either a highly adaptable www.urbact.eu/refill-match-makers administration equipped to reach out to each single initiative, such as in Ghent, or can be outsourced to third parties with the on the brokering role, similarly to Athens’s ation solutions and social agreements, a list necessary qualities like in Riga, Amersfoort vice-mayor for temporary use. Amersfoort of useful local contacts and recommenda- and Bremen. has a “business district network” of real tions for temporary use agreements. estate players. Lastly, in Riga the non-profit Temporary users expect a certain degree organisation Free Riga mediates between As the REFILL partner cities explored of service but are also providing a service property owners and the cultural scene. how they could best support initiatives in themselves. They maintain the site, reduce temporary use projects, they also began costs, add value to the property and pro- #3. SUPPORT to question the traditional preference for vide image benefits for property owners. To benefit from temporary use and fully use stability and security. In temporary use As such, municipalities aren’t just acting its potential, initiatives need support. projects, the dynamic of regular moves and as mediators between economically weak changes is also seen as positive to inspire temporary users and property owners. All Start-ups, social innovators, cultural innovation and benefit from the positive parties are stakeholders collaborating to associations and other initiatives interested vibe of different locations. create value in the city. in temporary use require mentoring and ASSEMBLING A TOOLBOX technical coaching. With its seven years EXPLORING A VALUE CREATION PLAN RAISING AWARENESS of experience, Bremen’s ZZZ (Zwischen- COMMUNICATION PROVIDING A CHECKLIST FOR CONTRACT TEMPLATE STARTING A TEMPORARY ZeitZentrale) knows what a difference USE PROJECT REFILL TOOL #3: ROADMAP LOOKING FOR EASY, BASIC TEMPORARY support measures make for temporary USE PROJECTS TO TEMPORARY USE use candidates. Their services range from contract templates and advice on safety checks, to support for fire inspections and REFILL’s partner cities have pooled their SETTING UP A MATCHING SUPPORT SYSTEM exit strategies after the temporary use. CANDIDATES TO respective experiences into a REFILL VACANT SPACE OWNERS STANDARDISING Building a formal framework helps to TEMPORARYRoadmap USE to temporary use. Find the map SUPPLY AND institutionalise the practice of temporary DEMAND at the back of this publication. SETTING UP TEMPORARY USE use but also risks rigidifying it. Poznan AS A SERVICE TACKLING THE LEGAL advocates flexible mediation. They offer a FRAMEWORK ANALYSING SUPPLY ORGANIZING VACANT toolbox with practical tips, successful medi- AND DEMAND SPACE MAPPING PUTTING TEMPORARY USE ON THE CITY AGENDA TEMPORARY USE AS A TOOL GAINING POLITICAL SUPPORT FOR URBAN PLANNING AND CREATING AN AGENDA 8 host” not only to better support initiatives initiatives to help revitalize the Lower Lazarz #5. TRANSITIONAL accommodated in temporary spaces but neighbourhood (see also: F11, p. 34). In OR TRANSFORMATIVE TEM- also to increase value creation across the Nantes, the occasional accommodation of PORARY USE city as the initiatives move forward after cultural and artistic initiatives generates an Initiatives housed in temporary use the temporary use period.