Meinherz, Franziska X.Fritz, Livia2023-08-282023-08-282023-08-282023-08-1210.1080/09644016.2023.2242741https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/200164WOS:001048773200001During COVID-19, many cities built pop-up infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. We analyse the experiences of Geneva and Lyon through a qualitative approach based on document analysis and interviews with institutional and societal actors. We explore what contributed to the development of pop-up infrastructure during COVID-19, and how these interventions were shaped by and affected policy-making processes and actors' agency. We found that COVID-19 accelerated social and political trends regarding urban mobility. In both cities, authorities used the crisis to push through existing plans. Authorities' commitment and the existence of ready-to-implement plans proved crucial. The implementation processes constituted a breach from usual procedures. In Geneva, this empowered actors who usually act from the margins. In Lyon, authorities adopted pop-up infrastructure as a way to reduce costs. Our study clarifies the potential of experimentation in a context of crisis for urban climate governance and highlights the democratic implications of such interventions.Environmental StudiesPolitical ScienceEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyGovernment & Lawexperimentssustainability transitionsclimate governancecyclingpop-up infrastructurecovid-19>tactical urbanismcitiesopportunitiestext::journal::journal article::research article