Urban Planner Advocates for Temporary Street Designs to Inform Permanent City Projects

What Happened

Chris Hibler, an urban planning professional based in Fresno, California, promotes a disciplined approach for city development, especially in mid-sized cities with limited capital. He champions a method where urban designs are tested in a temporary, real-world setting before any permanent construction begins.

This practice, known as quick-build, utilizes materials like paint, flexible posts, and temporary planters to create full-scale rehearsals of street layouts or public spaces. These installations can be set up in weeks and adjusted on the fly, allowing planners to observe actual use patterns and gather critical data.

Hibler emphasizes that quick-build is not a shortcut but a tool for making better engineering decisions. It provides concrete feedback on how designs function—such as driver speeds, pedestrian routes, or bus turns—at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional commit-first planning, minimizing the risk of expensive, irreversible mistakes.

The process is structured with defined questions and measurable outcomes, ensuring that a test that doesn't perform well offers a valuable lesson rather than a failure. This allows cities to adapt or step back gracefully, saving significant resources.

The Core Points

Chris Hibler advocates for quick-build projects in city planning.
Quick-build tests urban designs using temporary materials like paint and flexible posts.
The method gathers real-world data on how designs function before permanent construction.
It helps mid-sized cities avoid costly planning mistakes and manage tight budgets.
Testing is a disciplined process with measurable outcomes, not a marketing tool.
Allows cities to adapt or step back from designs that don't perform well, saving resources.

Context in 60 Seconds

Cities globally are seeking more agile and cost-effective strategies for urban development, particularly as capital budgets tighten and the demand for adaptable public spaces grows. The traditional model of committing to permanent construction based solely on blueprints and consultations often leads to unforeseen issues and costly rectifications once projects are in use.

The quick-build methodology directly addresses this need by integrating real-world testing into the planning process. This shift helps municipal agencies gather actionable intelligence, engage residents with tangible prototypes, and ensure that public investments result in more effective and beloved urban environments, positioning learning as a fundamental step before large-scale expenditure.

Bottom Line

This approach offers a practical framework for cities to test design concepts, ensuring better public spaces and responsible use of funds by prioritizing real-world data before permanent commitment.

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