Mobilizing nature-based solutions through temporary urban interventions: A civic guide to ephemeral landscapes

Tuba Doğu; Hande Atmaca

doi:10.47818/DRArch.2025.v6i2170

Mobilizing nature-based solutions through temporary urban interventions: A civic guide to ephemeral landscapes

Authors

Tuba Doğu Short Bio İzmir University of Economics

Tuba Doğu received her B.Arch from Middle East Technical University and M.Sc. from The University of Sydney. Earned her PhD. in architecture from Izmir Institute of Technology. Currently works as an Assistant Professor at Izmir University of Economics and continues her research at UrbanTank (www.urbantank. org) since 2013, developing research and intervention projects for human-oriented and participatory urban environments. Major research interests include social interventions as a form of alternative spatial practices, centering on questions of human and material agency.
Hande Atmaca Short Bio Beykent University

Hande Atmaca received her Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Istanbul Technical University in 2010, including a semester at the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" through the Erasmus program. She completed her M.Sc. in Design Studies at Izmir University of Economics and the Università degli Studi di Firenze, Department of Interior Architecture, and earned her PhD in Architectural History from Istanbul Technical University in 2019. From 2012 to 2023, she taught in the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Izmir University of Economics. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Interior Architecture at Istanbul Beykent University. Major research interests include theoretical and historical studies from the urban to interior and furniture scales, material research, and professional practice in landscape architecture.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47818/DRArch.2025.v6i2170

Keywords:

civic engagement, ephemeral landscapes, nature-based solutions, temporary urbanism, urban permeability

Abstract

The potential of permeable urban landscapes has gained increasing attention in contemporary academic scholarship on nature-based solutions (Nbs). The common thread of these solutions is related to pressing issues arising from responses to climate change caused by urban densification, necessitating innovative strategies for enhancing environmental resilience. However, these strategies often require extensive timeframes and large-scale implementation. In contrast, temporary approaches to urbanism have the potential to provide answers to these strategies by focusing on citizen-engaged, small-scale, low-cost and low-tech actions. This study engages these two planning approaches in dialogue by focusing on overlooked urban interstices—small and unnoticed impervious spaces that have significant potential to become permeable. Developing a conceptual framework, the research explores how ephemeral installations can transform these interstices into nature-based, scalable and socially engaged landscapes. Applying this framework, the study adopts prototyping as an experimental research method, structured around three phases: (1) experimentation: incorporating nature-based aggregates, (2) fabrication: forming scalable and modular tiles, and (3) dissemination: creating social value with workshops. Building over the findings of these phases, the paper concludes with a proposal for a civic urban guide that outlines all these practical strategies for activating underutilized spaces through accessible and low-maintenance interventions. The guide aims to inspire civic engagement and environmental awareness, offering a model for small-scale, bottom-up interventions in line with broader Nbs objectives. In doing so, the research proposes a comprehensive approach to urban resilience that bridges planning theories, material experimentation, and public engagement.

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2025-08-30

How to Cite

Doğu, T., & Atmaca, H. (2025). Mobilizing nature-based solutions through temporary urban interventions: A civic guide to ephemeral landscapes. Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning, 6(2), 316–335. https://doi.org/10.47818/DRArch.2025.v6i2170