Tactical urbanism talk outlines urban intervention strategies

Urban planner Rik Adamski discussed "tactical urbanism," the implementation of small scale, typically low-cost, community-led improvements to public space, in a Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning lecture Feb. 20 in Room C105 of the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M campus.

"Tactical urbanism helps citizen activists transform their own communities and educate others about how urban interventions can lead to long-term change in the quality and function of an urban space," said Adamski, a senior planner with Bowman-Melton  Associates, a Dallas-based firm that specializes in pedestrian and bicycle planning.

His presentation explored a wide range of tactical urbanism purposes and tactics, such as planning a tactical urbanism intervention, identifying a potential intervention site, obtaining permissions and recruiting participants, sponsors and donors.

Adamski has worked in various capacities for several nationally influential planning organizations including the American Planning Association, Congress for the New Urbanism and the Center for Neighborhood Technology. He holds a Master in Urban Planning and Policy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Cincinnati. He

Adamski recently worked as a planner for the Fort Worth Police Department and has been active in a wide variety of public service committees, including the Fort Worth Development Review Committee, Downtown Fort Worth Inc. Transportation and Education Committee, the Congress for the New Urbanism North Texas, the Walk! Fort Worth Technical Advisory Committee, and the Fort Worth Makerspace.

He served as a streetscape team leader for Fort Worth's embRACE theSTREET Better Block project and is currently spearheading a large-scale “Incremental Urbanism” project for SteerFW, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price’s young leader initiative.

For additional information on the Feb. 20 Tactical Urbanism lecture, contact Rebecca Itz at ritz@arch.tamu.edu or 979-845-1046.