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These Miami urban planners want to do more—and plan less

OUR CHANGEMAKERS: Tony Garcia and Dana Wall are urban planners at Street Plans Collaborative, a Miami-based design firm that is pushing for a new approach to planning the future of our city. It’s called “tactical urbanism.”

HOW THEY’RE DOING IT: They’re advocating for long-term changes to our city streets by setting up short-term “pop up” projects. On Biscayne Boulevard, they transformed two parking medians into an event space for three weeks. At Plaza 98 they converted a two-lane road into a pedestrian-friendly plaza. And with Taste of Avenue 3 they turned street parking into an outdoor cafe. They say it’s a way to fast-track community support for big ideas.

QUOTABLE: “You’re able to show people, this is what this space could be… People see what the reality could be, and they advocate for it.”

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED: Check out Street Plans’ website for upcoming lectures on better urban planning. And check out this “Your View” Dana wrote about how Miami should use “guerrilla tactics” to encourage these kinds of projects.