This study began in November 2025 with in-person fieldwork at Edge City Patagonia and DevConnect, and ran through July 2026. The work came in three phases: a qualitative phase of stakeholder interviews and desk research; a quantitative phase built on a multi-stakeholder survey and structured administrative data collected directly from operators; and a cross-case analysis that tested 22 working hypotheses against the full evidence base using one shared measurement framework.

What a pop-up city is

A pop-up city is a temporary physical gathering in which people with shared interests or values build a short-lived, city-like environment: shared spaces, social norms, cultural programming, services and coordination structures, usually for 2 to 12 weeks. The format is being used for far more than hospitality — governance experiments, research environments, accelerators for frontier tech, science and the arts, and prototypes for new kinds of institutions.

What the report asks

The report asks what the evidence says works, what breaks, and what the field would need in order to grow from a curiosity into a category that funders, operators and host jurisdictions can evaluate, invest in and replicate. It maps the field across four archetypes, compares operating models, identifies the recurring failure modes, and distils the design choices that matter most — supported by case snapshots, cost structures, outcome measures and early-warning indicators.

Read it

Pop-up cities have scaled faster than the understanding around them. Since the 2023 founding case, the format has moved ahead of the diligence material available to funders and host jurisdictions, and ahead of the playbooks available to operators. PCRI exists to close that gap with evidence rather than advocacy.

What we publish

• Research. Structured, cross-case studies with stated confidence levels and stated limitations.
• Frameworks & tools. The measurement instruments behind the research, released for reuse.
• A directory. An open catalogue of pop-up cities, their operating models and outcomes.

How we work

Fieldwork first, then instruments, then cross-case analysis against one shared measurement framework spanning membership, governance, incentives, enforcement, coordination, operations and economics. The flagship report is released under CC BY 4.0 so operators, funders and researchers can build on it without asking permission.

Get involved

Operators, funders and researchers are welcome to contribute data, corrections and case material. Write to hello@thouartofficial.com or find PCRI on X at @popupcities.

The shared measurement framework

All cross-case analysis runs against one framework with seven dimensions. It is what makes otherwise incomparable events comparable.

Contribute an entry

Running or documenting a pop-up city? Entries are reviewed against the shared measurement framework before listing. Send details to hello@thouartofficial.com, or open a pull request adding one object to data/directory.json — the schema and instructions live in CONTRIBUTING.md.