Theories of Temporary Use, Creativity, and Planning

Abstract

This paper explores how recent theoretical, empirical, and policy studies on temporary uses of derelict urban spaces in European cities have adopted and applied the concept of creativity. Traditionally tolerated but marginal, temporary land uses are now increasingly seen as central to urban vitality and growth. Similarly, while creativity has always defined urban economies, its deliberate promotion by urban planning is relatively new. The paper identifies three contexts where creativity intersects with temporary use and urban redevelopment: creative production, consumption of creativity, and creative governance. These contexts are mutually reinforcing—creative industries are drawn to derelict spaces for their affordability and atmosphere, while their activities transform and revitalise these sites. In turn, temporary uses attract further creative workers and enhance neighbourhood life. Planning both nurtures and adapts to these processes, requiring new tools and methods that emphasise flexibility, collaboration, and ongoing engagement. Unlike traditional critiques that reduce creativity to symbolic capital within gentrification, this paper highlights the broader interplay of creative production, consumption, and governance within neoliberal urban strategies. It concludes that planning itself, in this context, increasingly resembles a form of temporary creative use—shifting its focus from fixed physical outcomes to dynamic social activity.