Insurgent Public Space

"[W]hat this book provides through its narratives are strategies which have led to at least some remaking of the cities mentioned and through that hope for more inclusive cities in the future." International Planning Studies Journal, Brian Simpson, University of New England, Australia "All chapters are short and to the point; they are written in a reader-friendly manner, with a limited amount of theoretical abstractions and jargon. Furthermore, the case studies are illustrated by a good number of well-chosen and eye-catching photographs." Society and Space - Environment and Planning D, Ioannis Chorianopoulos, University of the Aegean, Greece "For the reader open to rethinking the nature of public space, Insurgent Public Space is an energizing read." Carolina Planning, Maire Dekle "Due to the books broad range of articles, the book will appeal not only to serious scholars, students and academics, but also to working professionals and citizens whose personal interests touch on the public realm. The discussion on public defiance has broadened to include more people and a more nuanced understanding of public spaces, and Hous book offers a refreshing, critical glimpse into these acts of spatial resistance." Berkeley Planning Journal, Nicola Szibbo, UC Berkeley

Jeffrey Hou is Chair and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle. His research and practice focus on design activism and engaging marginalized social groups in the making of public space. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Planning and M.Arch. from University of California, Berkeley.

1. (Not) Your Everyday Public Space Part 1: Appropriating 2. Dancing in the Streets of Beijing: Improvised Uses within the Urban System 3. Latino Urbanism in Los Angeles: A Model for Urban Improvisation and Reinvention 4. Taking Place: Rebars Absurd Tactics in Generous Urbanism Part 2: Reclaiming 5. eXperimentcity: Culturing and Publicizing Sustainable Development of Berlins Freirume 6. Re-City, Tokyo: Putting "Publicness" into the Urban Building Stocks 7. Claiming Residual Spaces in the Heterogeneous City Part 3: Pluralizing 8. Claiming Latino Space: Building Cultural Capacity in the Public Realm 9. Night Market in Seattle: Community Eventscape and the Remaking of Public Space 10. Making Places of Fusion and Resistance: the Experiences of Immigrant Women in Taiwanese Townships 11. How Outsiders Find Home in the City: Chung Shan in Taipei Part 4: Transgressing 12. Machizukuri House and Its Expanding Networks: Making New Public Realm in Private Homes 13. Niwaroju: Private Gardens Serving the Public Realm 14. Farmhouses as Urban/Rural Public Space Part 5: Uncovering 15. Urban Archives: Public Memories of Everyday Places 16. FunnyIt Doesnt Look Like Insurgent Space: the San Francisco Bureau of Urban Secrets and the Practice of History as a Public Art 17. Mapping the Space of Desire: Brothel as a City Landmark 18. Spatial Limbo: Re-inscribing Landscapes in Temporal Suspension Part 6: Contesting 19. Public Space Activism, Toronto and Vancouver: Using the Banner of Public Space to Build Capacity and Activate Change 20. Urban Agriculture in the Making of Insurgent Spaces in Los Angeles and Seattle 21. When Overwhelming Needs Meets Underwhelming Prospects: Sustaining Community Open Space Activism in East St. Louis