Rose, Power, Southern Regional Assembly, has contributed to the latest Interreg Europe Policy Brief on Tactical Urbanism, which explores how small-scale, community-led interventions can catalyse long-term transformation in towns and cities across Europe.
The brief introduces the concept of tactical urban regeneration — combining the strategic goals of urban regeneration with the short-term, low-cost, and participatory methods of tactical urbanism. Instead of relying solely on large-scale redevelopment projects, tactical urbanism invites experimentation, community involvement, and creative re-use of public space.
Across Europe, this approach has been used to:
- Reactivate vacant or underutilised buildings and heritage sites
- Pilot temporary pedestrianisation or street redesigns
- Create pop-up parks and cultural spaces
- Test ideas that can later be scaled into permanent improvements
By providing tangible prototypes, tactical interventions help communities, policymakers, and local authorities to visualise change, evaluate options, and build ownership before committing to long-term investment.
THRIVE: Putting people at the heart of transformation
In her foreword to the Policy Brief, Rose Power highlights the Assembly’s THRIVE initiative. Funded under the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021–2027, THRIVE is designed to place people at the centre of town and city transformation.
The initiative combines the participatory approach of the Town Centre First Framework with the principles of the New European Bauhaus — sustainability, inclusiveness, and beauty. By bringing together citizens, community groups, artists, planners, engineers, and architects, THRIVE demonstrates how co-creation can reinvigorate urban spaces and strengthen community pride.
Rose Power notes:
“Tactical urban interventions help us to see our town centres not as static places, but as evolving spaces of opportunity. They create opportunity for experimentation, invite conversation, and give communities the chance to co-create solutions that are meaningful and lasting.“
A timely contribution to European urban policy
The Interreg Europe Policy Brief highlights how tactical urban regeneration can align with broader European policy agendas, including the New European Bauhaus, climate action strategies, and sustainable mobility. By focusing on low-cost, high-impact interventions, it provides local authorities and communities with practical tools to address some of today’s most pressing challenges — from climate resilience to social cohesion.
For the Southern Regional Assembly, the brief offers an important platform to share insights from the Southern Region and showcase how projects like THRIVE can inspire innovation well beyond Ireland.
Read the full Interreg Europe Policy Brief on Tactical Urbanism here: Urban regeneration
Watch the THRIVE video here: YouTube link
Read more about THRIVE: https://southernassembly.ie/erdf-priority-3/thrive/
THRIVE is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.
