Feature Popuphood February 7, 2012 Usually when someone says pop-up, they are really just describing something that is temporary.

Pop ups have been popping up for more than a few years. Galleries, shops, bars, and venues . It’s gotten to a point where I cringe most times I hear the word, usually expecting some corporate retail exercise disguised as being edgy and spontaneous. (See here).

POPUPHOOD from Eva Kolenko on Vimeo.

Anyway, this project in Oakland caught my eye. A far more interesting attempt at a pop up, the Popuphood project looks at revitalizing the quiet downtown area of Oakland by allowing local people to open shops with no rent for the first six months.  The hope is that this will build a community and bring life back into the area, rather than make something cool and trendy for a bit, and then shooting off when it gets old. It’s sounds wonderfully non-corporate. A project worth following for anyone living in a city with a woeful retail sector.