When you talk to vacant property and brownfields redevelopment experts there is always a tendency to look for the best and highest use of a particular property.  However in many places, interim use strategies are filling the gap between a property's former use and it's next long term use.  

In Birmingham, Alabama, a small number of local merchants are selling their products from temporary stores in vacant storefronts downtown as part of a "pop-up shops" initiative. The initiative is part of a greater "pop-up-project"  that is intended to find temporary uses for vacant storefronts and lots downtown and support other short-term projects that create energy in the city center. The goal of the greater initiative, which sometimes is referred to as "guerrilla urbanism," is to encourage foot and bicycle traffic downtown and use temporary projects to foster permanent change.

Pop up storefronts and pop up retail is a relatively new activitity that has led to the explosive growth of food and other mobile storefronts as well as the seasonal storefronts that come to cities and towns.  What pop up efforts are underway in your community?