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Large-scale tactical urbanism: the Denver bike share system

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  • Wesley E. Marshall
  • Andrew L. Duvall
  • Deborah S. Main

Abstract

How did one of the most historically automobile-dependent US cities end up with the first large-scale modern US bike-sharing system? The story reveals that it is less about transportation demand planning and engineering and more about the principles of what has been termed tactical urbanism . The tactical urbanism movement revolves around the idea that temporary interventions can help one understand what interventions might work in a particular context and lay the foundation for more permanent ones. That the first large-scale bike-sharing system in the US began as such an intervention is quite remarkable and illustrative of the potential of this strategy to build public aspiration and political will via temporary, short-term empirical success. Beginning with preparations for the 2008 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver, Colorado, this paper details what went into creating the temporary Freewheel!n bike-share system and how that was able to be leveraged into a permanent bike-sharing system, Denver B-Cycle, two years later. Consistent with the characteristics of tactical urbanism, the partnerships formed with the temporary DNC implementation served as a catalyst. The paper then identifies lessons that other cities can learn and apply in similar large-scale tactical urbanism interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Wesley E. Marshall & Andrew L. Duvall & Deborah S. Main, 2016. "Large-scale tactical urbanism: the Denver bike share system," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 135-147, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjouxx:v:9:y:2016:i:2:p:135-147
    DOI: 10.1080/17549175.2015.1029510
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    Cited by:

    1. Shirgaokar, Manish & Reynard, Darcy & Collins, Damian, 2021. "Using twitter to investigate responses to street reallocation during COVID-19: Findings from the U.S. and Canada," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 300-312.
    2. Sunio, Varsolo & Mateo-Babiano, Iderlina, 2022. "Pandemics as ‘windows of opportunity’: Transitioning towards more sustainable and resilient transport systems," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 175-187.
    3. Kwiatkowski Michał Adam, 2024. "Bicycle critical mass events 30 years on – are they an urban mobility movement or a bicycle festival?," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 12(2), pages 28-39.
    4. Paulo Silva, 2016. "Tactical urbanism: Towards an evolutionary cities’ approach?," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 43(6), pages 1040-1051, November.
    5. Anna Martínez & Xavier Martín & Jordi Gordon, 2021. "Matrix of Architectural Solutions for the Conflict between Transport Infrastructures, Landscape and Urban Habitat along the Mediterranean Coastline: The Case of the Maresme Region in Barcelona, Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-27, September.

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