Pop ups

The NYT article today on 'land banking' – the strategic acquisition of land in advance of expanding urban development, and the holding on to it as long as possible to maximize profits – talks about how such pieces of land could be used for temporary public parks pending development. Apparently last Friday was Park(ing) Day and the article gives several examples of where this has happened.

This idea of a 'pop-up' park is very similar to the pop up shops that have recently hit mainstream (of course they always existed in the mysterious way that umbrella sellers pop up in city streets the second a rain shower begins). The Economist describes the pop up retailing scene in a piece published in July this year.

Pop-ups arrive unannounced in empty storefronts or public spaces and leave just as quickly. Their aim, says Eduardo Braniff of Imagination USA, which does "experiential" marketing, is to "intervene in a consumer's life" and take people by surprise.

Both the parks and the retail stores have taken advantage of the weak property market and are nice examples of quick innovative thinking. How could the pop up concepts be extended into organization design? (Discount project teams are arguably a form of pop up although these are usually formed in the same mould as the rest of the organization rather than different from the original intention which is the value add).