Simon Wilson: Queen St and the tactics of making a better city 29 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM 7 minutes to read Spots on Shortland St: tactical urbanism that works. Photo / Cherie Howie OPINION: Tactical urbanism. It's the small things people do to change the streets and other public spaces, when the big things are too hard. Tactical urbanism has been around a long while. The cafe owners who put tables and chairs on the footpath before they were allowed to were pioneers of tactical urbanism. And look what a difference they made. Few ideas have ever been as successful in changing our streetscapes for the better. The pleasure of sitting outside ranks right up there with the invention of footpaths, sealed roads and drains. Also ramped edges to footpath crossings, and cycleways.