Temporary appropriation refers to the action in which a

person A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...

or a group of people realises an activity in a

public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

for which it was not designed for. According to Lara-Hernandez and

Melis Melis is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Melis Abzalov (1938–2016), Uzbek actor, screenwriter, film director and producer * Melis Birkan (born 1981), Turkish actress * Melis Gerritsen (born 1939) ...

, it is

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management *Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...

that implies dynamism similar to what Graumann called the humanisation of the space, which is the fundamental societal defined meanings interiorised by the individual. Representative activities of temporary appropriation can be grouped in three main categories: 1)

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...

an
cultural activities
2) activities related to economy such as work and services; and 3) activities related to sacralisation or

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

. Authors stress two main factors that encourage the temporary appropriation

phenomenon A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried W ...

, on the one hand the cultural factor (also known as Synthetic psychological environment) while on the other the configuration or design of the

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

. The former refers to the group of symbols, values, attitudes, skills, knowledge, meanings, communication ways, social structure and physical objects that make possible the life of a determinate

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

. While the latter refers to human-made structures, features, and facilities viewed collectively as an environment in which people live and work. Temporary appropriation is an example of Architectural Exaptation in the urban environment.

Theoretical explanation

The term appropriation was firstly introduced by Korosec-Serfaty in the Proceedings of the

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

conference in 1976. Within the field of

environmental psychology Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that explores the relationship between humans and the external world. It examines the way in which the natural environment and our built environments shape us as individuals. Environmental Psychol ...

, the term appropriation is described as a temporary

that implies
dynamic
process of interaction between the individual and its surroundings. It is a process similar to that o
humanisation
Since then, several authors such a
Purcell
Pol, and Yory with the theory of

topophilia Topophilia (From Greek ''topos'' "place" and ''-philia'', "love of") is a strong sense of place, which often becomes mixed with the sense of cultural identity among certain people and a love of certain aspects of such a place. History of the term ...

, have used the term to explain the theoretical link between people and places. These authors consider the appropriation as an inborn necessity of humans that can be expressed through activities that occur in the urban landscape.

Public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

s are an essential part of the urban landscape and their design is therefore strongly linked to the possibility of occurring activities related to the Temporary Appropriation. In other words, while appropriation is a broader term, its temporary variation refers more specifically to public spaces. The accent in the latter has always been placed on the informality of this action ( for more details se
Temporary appropriation and urban informality: Exploring the subtle distinction
. Dr. Lara-Hernandez conceptualises temporary appropriation instead as a consequence of the necessity of adaptin
human needs
to a city that deprives the population of reference points due to sudden and unexpected changes. Additionally, it has been claimed that temporary appropriation plays a key role in enhancing urban resilience (se
Temporary Appropriation in Cities: Human Spatialisation in Public Spaces and Community Resilience
.

References

{{Reflist Public space Urban design Architecture