Mastering an Incremental Approach to Development

The "new incrementalism" is Blackson's term for an emerging approach to development that allows for evolution in implementation as temporary uses seed the ground for more permanent investment. He observes: "[v]ery rarely now are we designing to build immediately for a project's absolute highest and best use or, as Nathan Norris calls it, its 'climax condition.' This new incrementalism focuses on how lots change - how they're built upon and reconfigured over time before, ahem, reaching their climax."

Following from this approach, he says, are three primary typologies that can play a role in this sequence of development: temporary architecture, pre-fab or modular construction, and so-called "Grow" or "Go" buildings that can be added to over time or demolished to make way for different ones.