In a blog series the Centre for a Sustainable Built Environment in Sweden works with Karin Bradley, Associate Professor at KTH, to introduce the concept of Do-It-Yourself Urbanism and the questions this approach raises for those of us engaged in city making. In the introduction to DIY urbanism blog series KTH researcher Karin Bradley comments:

Local planners,  have engaged the public in planning decisions for many years now. DIY Urbanism is different. It’s about a new wave of urban initiatives that have their origins in society, which come from people, rather than from the municipality.

This global movement is in part a product of dissatisfaction with traditional top-down urban planning, especially its struggle to respond to environmental challenges and a lack of high quality public spaces that support a feeling of community. It also reflects a wider change in society with people now re-casting themselves as activeprosumers who contribute towards what they need rather than passive consumers of items produced by other people.

The first blog we look at what DIY Urbanism is, the second at what’s going on in DIY Urbanism in Sweden, and the third on international trends in DIY Urbanism. The final blog post in the series reflects on the role of research in DIY Urbanism. It explores some of the research projects already going on at KTH-Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Finally, some follow-on resources are suggested for finding out more – or taking action yourself.

Urban farming at Tempelhof, Berlin.