Winner of the EDRA book prize for 2012.

In cities around the world, individuals and groups are reclaiming and creating urban sites, temporary spaces and informal gathering places. These 'insurgent public spaces' challenge conventional views of how urban areas are defined and used, and how they can transform the city environment. No longer confined to traditional public areas like neighbourhood parks and public plazas, these guerrilla spaces express the alternative social and spatial relationships in our changing cities.

With nearly twenty illustrated case studies, this volume shows how instances of insurgent public space occur across the world. Examples range from community gardening in Seattle and Los Angeles, street dancing in Beijing, to the transformation of parking spaces into temporary parks in San Francisco.

Drawing on the experiences and knowledge of individuals extensively engaged in the actual implementation of these spaces, Insurgent Public Space is a unique cross-disciplinary approach to the study of public space use, and how it is utilized in the contemporary, urban world. Appealing to professionals and students in both urban studies and more social courses, Hou has brought together valuable commentaries on an area of urbanism which has, up until now, been largely ignored.

About the Author
Jeffrey Hou is Chair and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle. His research and practice focus on design activism and engaging marginalized social groups in the making of public space. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Planning and M.Arch. from University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews

"[W]hat this book provides through its narratives are strategies which have led to at least some remaking of the cities mentioned and through that hope for more inclusive cities in the future." - International Planning Studies Journal, Brian Simpson, University of New England, Australia

"All chapters are short and to the point; they are written in a reader-friendly manner, with a limited amount of theoretical abstractions and jargon. Furthermore, the case studies are illustrated by a good number of well-chosen and eye-catching photographs." - Society and Space - Environment and Planning D, Ioannis Chorianopoulos, University of the Aegean, Greece

"For the reader open to rethinking the nature of public space, Insurgent Public Space is an energizing read." - Carolina Planning, Maire Dekle

"Due to the book's broad range of articles, the book will appeal not only to serious scholars, students and academics, but also to working professionals and citizens whose personal interests touch on the public realm. The discussion on public defiance has broadened to include more people and a more nuanced understanding of public spaces, and Hou's book offers a refreshing, critical glimpse into these acts of spatial resistance." - Berkeley Planning Journal, Nicola Szibbo, UC Berkeley

Book Information
ISBN 9780415779661
Author Jeffrey Hou
Format Paperback
Page Count 278
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 500g