Temporary use of urban vacant spaces: A pro-poor land use strategy in the Global South

Abstract

This paper examines temporary use of urban vacant spaces (UVS) as everyday activity by disparate groups of entrepreneurs largely in the informal sector of the urban economy. It extends the academic discussions of temporary use as a component of the development processes of cities in developing countries rather as opportunity for urban regeneration and innovative urbanism in the Global North. Using Benin City as a case study, the paper employs snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews of participant temporary users to explain the grassroots mobilization of UVS for temporary use within the context of the opportunities, vulnerabilities, and precarities associated with the use of vacant spaces. The paper revealed that temporary use of UVS in Benin City is dominated by informal economic activities. Availability of vacant spaces enables temporary use to thrive. The everyday use of vacant spaces challenges the powers of formal place-making decision-makers who decide whether temporary use of UVS can be accepted, not accepted, or tolerated. The paper recommends that space users should be at the center of temporary use research and policy debates, and tactical urbanism should be adopted as the new urban planning paradigm rather than the bulldozer approach to urban renovation in the developing countries.

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