Little Free Libraries: an examination of micro-urbanist interventions

Micro-urban interventions at the smallest scales represent a challenge for planners concerned with social justice and urban theory. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of micro-urbanism through an exploration of the Little Free Library phenomenon. Two case studies in Madison, Wisconsin and Santa Ana, California provide data for a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis that together support a complicated view of the phenomenon and offer insights into urban theory. In particular, the article proposes that Little Free Libraries represent micro-urbanist actions, which can be analyzed according to a theoretical terrain that often blurs the boundaries between “do-it-yourself,” tactical, and guerrilla urbanism. Our research supports the view that micro-urban interventions can take on different forms as either a grassroots contribution to resolving urban problems or a bottom-up effort reinforcing existing and developing spatial inequities.