Productive possibilities? Valorising urban space through pop-up?

Warnaby, Gary ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6696-6671 and Medway, Dominic ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6102-1716 (2022) Productive possibilities? Valorising urban space through pop-up? Qualitative Market Research: an international journal, 25 (5). pp. 557-569. ISSN 1352-2752

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Abstract

Purpose: The ‘pop-up’ epithet has become a synonym for virtually any temporary event in a range of commercial, non-commercial and cultural contexts within the urban spatial arena. This paper discusses the role of the pop-up concept within urban space, to address the question articulated in the Call for Papers for this special issue, of whether ‘everywhere needs to become a marketplace’. Design/methodology/approach: We review a range of sources—both academic, popular press and practitioner publications and reports—to inform our critique of the use of the pop-up activities in urban space. Findings: We identify four ways in which the pop-up concept can be valorised—pop-up stores and experiences, pop-up agglomerations, pop-up service facilities and pop-up space brokerage services. Originality: Adopting a critical perspective, we address pop-up’s implications, especially the impact on urban places and the people within them. We conclude by discussing the potential for an increased use of pop-up within urban spaces impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which could be focused as much on social as economic value.