Meanwhile Uses

Temporary uses can be key to stimulate more flexible and agile approaches to urban regeneration and new ways to build cities around shared value and long-term impact, as proved by the strategic adoption of meanwhile uses in many urban regeneration projects of the last decade. Moreover, Covid-19 is amplifying the visibility of pre-existing urban voids and emptying spaces that were already on their path towards new uses and meanings. Across Europe, thousands of regeneration sites might risk losing sights of what uses and functions might be emerging in a post pandemic scenario. The need for urban policies clearly defining temporary uses is growingly perceived as relevant for answering to the disruptions brought by the pandemic. Additionally, temporary uses can become testbeds for experimenting innovations on smart planning and regulation, leveraging on dedicated transformational capital and funding, and piloting anticipatory governance solutions.