ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates a seasonal pop-up landscape at Spruce Street Harbor Park, located on Philadelphia’s former industrial waterfront a few blocks away from historical downtown. This underutilized public space is situated in an area targeted for major redevelopment.
The popup landscape on the waterfront combines temporary architectural elements using recycled materials, lighting and movable furniture with flexible play components. Together they create multiple place experiences on the waterfront. This chapter critically examines how this activation can provide places for people to reimagine the (their) city (and maybe themselves). We argue they offer new insights into how to foster playful social interactions and comfortable co-presences. We found these pop-up landscapes’ flexibility play a crucial role in promoting social cohesion in situ. Pop-up landscapes, in US cities, can be interesting new drivers for greater social interaction and maybe social cohesion more broadly. But to maintain this potential would require commitment to integrated, equitable development at the neighbourhood scale (Talen, 1999).
