Strategy vs Tactic: Urban Transportation

 

The two introductory readings this week by Margaret Crawford and Michel de Certeau both discuss the importance of everyday life in the creation and sustainability of urban settings, and how often we dismiss the power of the ordinary people when analyzing the structure of society, 

Michel de Certeau breaks down the dominant structures and systems of power by defining the difference between strategies and tactics. He defines strategies as the plans designed by institutions/authorities, and tactics as the everyday practices and improvisations  by ordinary people that make up this structure. 

A good example of this difference between strategy and tactics is urban transportation. The strategy being a mass transit system that is made up of buses/subways/rail networks, often planned by government authorities or city planners to serve a large number of people. Tactics that have resulted from this are ride-sharing, rental cars, and bicycle/pedestrian paths. These tactics are implemented by the residents of the community/private businesses to act as a supplement or alternative to the overarching strategy. When thinking about how much more common it is to hear someone going home by Uber instead of public transit, that goes to show how much the individual has power over creating their own urban environment.