Tactical Urbanism is process of making low-cost and temporary changes to the built environment in order to experiment with and catalyze changes in a city. Seaside Tactical Urbanism (STU) was created by a group of six environmental studies students to explore street interventions on Echo Avenue, a large and underdeveloped street in Seaside. The project sought to experiment with changes to the physical infrastructure by adding a crosswalk, curb extension, and a parklet the day of the event. After numerous design iterations and community outreach, these interventions were installed just prior to Earth Day. The community day included six food and plant vendors, art and games, and a Return of the Natives seed give-aways. A survey at the event and behavior mapping before and after the event were used to gather information about the installations. The survey and informal conversations with community members suggest that the community would like to see more tactical urbanism, increased street safety, art, and community events. They liked the idea of holding a weekly event, such as a farmers market, on Echo Avenue. They particularly liked the crosswalk as a safety feature and colorful addition to the neighborhood. Behavior mapping results showed a large increase in usage of the crosswalk, but no significant changes in pedestrian behavior were observed at the curb extension. Levels of jaywalking were high both before and after the event. This group recommends that the city consider an additional crosswalk with pedestrian-activated light feature in the middle of Echo Avenue to address this issue.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
Sustainable City Years Program Contact Info
University Faculty Contact
Tori Derr
Natural Sciences
Assistant Professor
tderr@csumb.edu
Local Government / Community Contact
Rick Riedl
Public Works
City Engineer
rriedl@ci.seaside.ca.us