Communities D.I.Y. Projects and Creating ‘Third Places’ in Urban Neighborhoods

By Michael J. Stepner & Mary Lydon / The Daily Transcript / March 13, 2026

In a famous World War II speech about the bombing of the House of Commons, Winston Churchill reminded the British public, “We shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us.” This also applies to the neighborhoods where we live.

Today, for a variety of reasons, our municipal governments cannot always provide for all the things we need and desire. This is most often due to financial constraints, but also the inability of large bureaucracies to work at the hyper-local level. And at the same time, there is growing concern about how the COVID-19 and loneliness epidemics catalyzed a lack of community engagement with our neighbors. At first glance, these may not be connected, but we believe they are – and addressing both together offers benefits.

Neighbors working together can add small things that improve the greater community – like adding a bench to a sidewalk, play equipment to a neighborhood park, clearing brush from a canyon, or even sweeping the sidewalks. This kind of community action not only improves the physical environment, but it brings people together for a common purpose, which very often expands. This social interaction is a critical component of creating a neighborhood.

Tactical urbanism and do-it-yourself (D.I.Y.) urban design projects are a way for the community to take matters into their own hands. The focus is on simple, actionable steps that spur change and increase community connections and collaboration. The former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, Jaime Lerner, called these small actions, which can have a big impact, “urban acupuncture.”

Strong Towns is a national movement, created by Charles Marohn, as a bottom-up revolution designed to help communities take control of their futures. The Strong Towns San Diego group focuses on improving transit, tactical urbanism, and community development.

Last year, Haylee Rea led a team of Strong Towns San Diego volunteers in applying red chalk on curbs to prevent cars from parking closer than 20 feet to an intersection. This was in response to the new California law, AB 413, which is designed for pedestrian safety.

It provides pedestrians a clearer view of oncoming cars before they step into the street. There are 16,000 intersections in the city of San Diego, which could take some time to paint. Cars parked within 20 feet of an intersection, even if the curb is not painted red, will be fined $117. The action by Strong Towns San Diego was an act of education and care for their community.

International Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory project in which people temporarily convert curbside parking spaces into tiny parks and places for art, play and activism. McCullough Landscape Architecture has participated for a number of years. Its principal, David McCullough, says urban spaces are often designed around cars, streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. But with thoughtful design interventions, these same spaces can become places of delight, connection, and community transformation.

Tactical urbanism is a temporary intervention designed to be low-cost, short-term, and iterative. It can be led by residents and nonprofits in partnership with city government, and it can be catalytic for long-term change. This is a process where communities can directly shape public spaces and catalyze quicker results.

In the early 2000s, a group of San Diego business leaders, planners and developers came together to focus on getting things done quicker to improve San Diego. The unofficial group called themselves San Diego Civic Solutions. They were ahead of the coined term “tactical urbanism,” which emerged out of a Congress for New Urbanism conference in New Orleans in 2010.

One of San Diego Civic Solutions’ main focuses was to protect and enhance the 3,200 acres of citywide canyons. The group conducted a public half-day planning charrette at Mission Trails Park Visitor Center. They generated a report outlining implementable actions, including the formation of a nonprofit organization to manage this precious resource. Fast forward to today, when the impactful San Diego Canyonlands has been working as a community organizer and environmental steward for 17 years.

The Plaza at the Civic Center has been turned into a pop-up marketplace with music, food vendors and games for residents, downtown workers, and visitors. The effort is being led by the Downtown San Diego Partnership and the Prebys Foundation.

These kinds of places are also known as a “third place.” American sociologist Ray Oldenberg came up with the concept in 1989. It describes a meeting place outside of work or home. Third places used to be just for recreation but now, as local urbanologist William Fulton writes about, these places are becoming an extension of where we work.

San Diego-based Urban Interventions, led by Beth Callender and Pete Gracia, conducted an award-winning tactical urbanism project called Bay to Park Paseo with volunteer help from top San Diego designers. It was a 1.7-mile impermanent pedestrian experience filled with art, education and design from San Diego Bay to Balboa Park.

The most photographed spot in Balboa Park is the Lily Pond Garden. Botany for Kids is the volunteer group who tend to this coveted spot. It is led by local landscape artist John Noble [an OBcean]. Botany for Kids seeks to inspire a love of the natural world in children, families, and communities. It is part of the Friends of Balboa Park’s Adopt-A-Plot program. There are hundreds of other volunteers who do landscaping, painting, preservation and restoration in the park for impactful organizations like Forever Balboa Park and the Committee of 100.

There is no doubt we are in a transformative time, and the way change is being forced upon us is unnerving and gut-wrenching. We have showcased these D.I.Y. community building and place-making examples to demonstrate how we can empower ourselves to get things done without a lot of money or long planning processes.

Based on a long-standing urban design philosophy, the next time you or someone says, “the city needs to…,” try changing the word “city” to “community.” See how that changes what that statement means, the solutions that are uncovered, and the role that you can play.

Michael J. Stepner, FAIA, FAICP, is former City of San Diego Architect and Professor Emeritus of the New School of Architecture and Design. He is the recipient of the 2024 AIA San Diego Lifetime Achievement Award. He serves on numerous boards and committees including the San Diego Coalition for Public Places.

Mary Lydon,the principal of Lydon Associates, has held leadership roles within the Urban Land Institute, the Downtown San Diego Partnership, and Housing You Matters. She also served on the City of San Diego Planning Commission. She currently serves on the boards of the National Center for Creative Land Recycling, UCSD Housing Policy and Design Center, San Diego Coalition for Public Places and Humble Design San Diego.