Beyond Collaboration and Conflict: A Toolkit for Understanding Temporariness Urbanism in Southern Countries

Abstract

This paper addresses the limitations of the collaboration–conflict binary in analysing civil society–institution relationships within contexts of temporary urbanism, particularly in informal and logistics-driven environments in the Global South, capturing the complexity of these “grey zones”, focusing on temporary urbanism, as not merely a tactical design approach, but as a governance interface between communities and authorities. This study develops a two-layer analytical framework combining a typology of interaction regimes with a value-cycle lens to systematically analyse relational configurations and value dynamics in temporary urban practices. Through comparative vignettes spanning (i) circular reuse of vacant/underused urban spaces and (ii) residual logistics landscapes (backlands, corridors, informal clusters) under polycrisis and techno-logistical transitions. The paper contributes both conceptually and practically by offering an interpretive and planning-oriented toolkit intended to support comparative analysis with particular relevance for diverse urban contexts in Southern Countries.