ABSTRACT
To the degree that advocates of tactical urbanism frame their agenda as an alternative to an activist role for public institutions in the production of urban space, they are at risk of reinforcing the very neoliberal rule-regimes they ostensibly oppose. In the exhibition catalogue, Pedro Gadanho and several other internationally influential curators and urban thinkers frame their understanding of tactical urbanism. They offer a variety of contextual reflections and interpretative formulations to explicate its essential elements. Despite the affirmations of many of the contributors to Uneven Growth, it is less obvious as to how the projects associated with tactical urbanism could counteract neoliberal urbanism. Despite the cautiously exploratory tone of its curators' framing texts in the exhibition catalogue, the MoMA project on Uneven Growth articulates a strong set of claims regarding the potentials of tactical urbanism. The patterns of "uneven growth" that are under scrutiny in the MoMA exhibition must be understood as its direct expressions and outgrowths.
