This research focuses on the unfixed urban identity and urban transformation of Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province in the Central Plain of China, through a modern infrastructural lens. First, in locating the railway within socialist China's infrastructural history and achievements, Zhengzhou geographically marks the central intersection and junction of China's railway network. However, this railway crossroads does not guarantee Zhengzhou's modern development in economic and political significance. Second, due to Zhengzhou's Foxconn plant housing the world's largest iPhone factory — earning it the name "iPhone City" — I regard the city as the frontier of China's role as "The World's Factory" for its massive manufacturing output and labor force in globalization. In this context, the city, also acclaimed as "Green City" in the 1970s, embodies the dilemma, shadow, and crisis of infrastructure in its unstable urban identity. Third, disasters including the 2021 Henan Floods and the Covid-19 pandemic serve as emerging and dramatic non-human elements reshaping the city's future. Consequently, how do we understand and pinpoint the railway as transport infrastructure in locality and modernity beyond its speed and mobility? And if the railway is one of the essential and crucial modern infrastructure legacies, how can this infrastructure, together with "Green City" and the Foxconn factory plant, shape urban infrastructure space for a city's modern or counter-modern identity? In this research, I argue that the concept of counter-modern infrastructure offers an approach to understanding the ambivalent urban identity and cultural memories of Zhengzhou in China and in globalization.

In an era of unprecedented urban crises—ranging from climate change to global health emergencies and social inequality—cities are seeking innovative ways to care for both their inhabitants and public spaces. Tactical Urbanism has emerged as a powerful approach to urban transformation, challenging ecomodernist imaginaries of top-down, technocratic solutions. Originating as a grassroots movement, Tactical Urbanism was driven by citizens who began improving their neighborhoods through short-term, low-cost, and often experimental interventions that responded to local needs. The use of Tactical Urbanism has historically surged in times of upheaval, suggesting that it serves both as an expression of crisis and as a response to it. Over time, city administrations and urban planners have adopted these methods, using public spaces as testing grounds for adaptive strategies.

This contribution examines how different crises serve as catalysts for Tactical Urbanism and investigates the conditions under which temporary interventions lead to lasting change. While traditional planning approaches are often too slow to address urgent challenges effectively, Tactical Urbanism provides an immediate, adaptable alternative. By redesigning and repurposing public spaces, cities can enhance resilience and improve quality of life in the face of future crises.

Through a comparative analysis of case studies from cities in Austria, Italy, and Germany, this research explores Tactical Urbanism interventions developed in response to climate, public health, and social inequality crises. It examines the spatial, social, and regulatory factors that determine whether temporary measures transition into long-term urban solutions, focusing on factors like community engagement, political commitment, and integration into existing urban planning frameworks. From temporary greening initiatives that make climate adaptation visible and tangible to pop-up spaces that foster social cohesion, Tactical Urbanism highlights the value of urban care.

As cities strive to become more resilient, inclusive, and adaptable, this study contributes to the growing discourse on innovative urban planning and community engagement. It explores the dual role of Tactical Urbanism as both a crisis response mechanism and a catalyst for sustainable urban transformation, offering new perspectives on how cities can care for their spaces and citizens in times of crisis and beyond.

Urbaner Raum ist stetigem Wandel unterlegen, sowohl in seiner räumlich-strukturellen als auch in seiner sozio-demographischen Ausformulierung. In dieser Wandelbarkeit des öffentlichen urbanen Raums liegen sowohl die Herausforderungen als auch das weitreichende Potenzial urbanen Lebens. Das Projekt URBAN BLOOMS ist aus eben diesem Möglichkeitsraum heraus entstanden, aus einer Baustellensituation in der Innsbrucker Altstadt wurde ein Labor zur Erprobung neuer städtischer Aufenthalts- und Lebensqualitäten. Durch konsumfreie Verweil- und Spielflächen, sowie Grün- und Interaktionszonen, wurde nicht nur eine temporäre Zwischenlösung geschaffen, es wurde aufgezeigt wie präzise Interventionen Stadträume und ihr Nutzerspektrum verändern.

URBAN BLOOMS, eine Initiative von Innsbruck Tourismus und dem Architekturbüro Snøhetta, versteht sich als experimentelles Labor, als Versuchsraum zum Erproben neuer Möglichkeiten im Wechselspiel nachhaltiger Stadtentwicklung und sozial verträglicher Tourismusförderung. Ein Projekt, das keine determinierte Lösung bieten will, sondern an verschiedenen Räumen der Stadt neues erprobt, um zu evaluieren und zu inspirieren. Durch temporäre Interventionen, farbige Bodengestaltung und mobile, modulare Stadtmöbel, werden urbane Räume neu interpretiert und der Status-Quo herausgefordert.

Das Projekt wandelte sich von einer spontanen Pop-Up Gestaltung, zu einer langfristigen und dynamischen Initiative. Durch das Innsbrucker Stadtgebiet wandernd, kontextualisiert sich das Projekt mit jeder Station neu und entwickelt sich stetig weiter: Anfangs lag der Fokus auf kreativer Gestaltung, Begrünung und Möblierung zur Verbesserung der Aufenthaltsqualität. Inzwischen haben sich neue Module herausgebildet, die noch flexibler auf unterschiedliche städtische Kontexte reagieren. Zudem soll URBAN BLOOMS über die Gestaltung hinaus eine Plattform für kulturelle und kreative Akteur:innen werden – der öffentliche Raum als lebendige Bühne, um Innsbrucks kreative Szenen sichtbar und erlebbar zu machen. Die Bevölkerung wird aktiv in die Programmierung des Projekts eingebunden, um die Grenzen zwischen touristischer und sozio-kultureller Nutzung verschwimmen zu lassen.

Unser Beitrag für die Konferenz Caring for the City reflektiert die Lernprozesse und Weiterentwicklungen dieses Ansatzes. Wir analysieren, wie temporäre Interventionen im Spannungsfeld von Stadtgestaltung und Tourismus als Katalysator für langfristige Impulse dienen können – und welche Rolle experimentelles, adaptives Design für die Zukunft lebenswerter Städte spielen kann.

What do people need to appropriate or shape public spaces according to their needs? Exactly - Tools!

Zuko is just such a tool. With Zuko, it becomes easier and more flexible to utilize public spaces. People can sit anywhere - in the shade, in the sun, alone, with friends, or simply enjoy the view. The flexible concept temporarily transforms empty corners and unused squares into places of exchange and life. It extends our own living room into the urban space.

Under the motto "Reclaim the Streets", Zuko invites everyone to actively use, claim, and shape urban space. This idea is at the heart of the project and aligns with SDG Goal 11.7: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

As part of the Local Agenda 21 Vienna (UN action plan), the Grätzlsitz (=neighborhood chair) initiative was launched in 2021 to test the concept at Elisabethplatz in Vienna’s fourth district. Today, Zuko offers the service for free at all four locations in Vienna and Germany. At one Vienna location alone, statistics from a one-year period show that 562 chairs were rented, with a median usage time of 36.1 minutes. This means public space was used for over 474 hours as an urban living room.

Zuko promotes an active outdoor lifestyle and encourages people to reclaim urban spaces. The more life takes place in public spaces, the more attractive the area becomes. Zuko supports shaping our urban spaces into future vibrant and inclusive neighborhoods.