Tactical Urbanism: A Place Branding Tool for Post-COVID Spaces

In light of the global crisis brought by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, cities have been living in a state of paralysis leading to a major shift in priorities when it comes to planning agendas. From this struggle, a new form of Tactical Urbanism (TU) emerged as being an innovative tool for post-pandemic economic and social recovery. Originally known as the concept of implementing small-scale, temporary urban interventions, to test bigger, permanent solutions, TU became adopted by governments to bring life back to their cities and achieve sustainable urban regeneration. This evolution of the term led to raising a question regarding its use as a Place Branding (PB) tool in post-COVID spaces. As an aim to tackle such question, this thesis offers an overview of the history of TU, followed by a description of the complex urban context in which such approach is implemented and eventually an exploration of its intersecting with Place Branding (PB) as a field. This intersection is essential to create a cross-disciplinary framework, introduced as Tactical Place Branding (TPB) which would serve as a guide for planning experts to use TU projects for branding forgotten spaces within the city. The research adopts a “case study” methodology by collecting data from 40 actions in 40 cities worldwide based on TU and PB principles. The aim of this experiment is to come up with patterns of successes and failures that would inform the structure of the framework. The thesis concludes by applying the TPB to an existing case study know as, Tunis Village case, to better explain its implementation. The outcome of this thesis is a first step for policymakers to revisit urban policies and pave the way towards a more progressive era.