Temporary use of space: Urban processes between flexibility, opportunity and precarity

Abstract

The temporary use of privately-owned, empty space has been advocated by some as economically sensible and socially progressive, making use of unproductive and empty spaces by providing access to space for those who are otherwise unable to obtain it. The article critically examines this concept, arguing that the temporary use of space should be analysed as part of the urban development process with its temporal and spatial fluctuations and its multivalent outcomes. It investigates the production of empty space and the temporary use of space as a space of opportunity and a flexible method of production. By drawing on the case of Chesterfield House in London, in the context of the British response to the global financial crisis, the temporary use of space is shown to be a moment in a complex process, offering some opportunities, but also revealing the brevity of this moment and the precarity of its users. Beyond the realm of necessity, it may be transformed into a cultural choice, a lubricant of urban development and a medium of social change, signifying a space of opportunity for some and vulnerability for others.