Vilnius’ mobile courtyards revive a community and then move on

Easy, simple and cheap solution to create a focal attraction in any neighbourhood

Several years ago, the Vilnius municipality decided to try out an innovative solution to revive the soul of a neighbourhood that had gone quiet in the midst of the pandemic. In 2020, the authorities installed the so-called “mobile courtyard” on Naugardukas Street in the New Town district, with the aim of turning what was a regular and rather normal commuter street into a place where people would want to stop and hang out for a bit.

These tiny urban spaces consist of a shelter, benches, plants, a skateboard half-pipe and chairs.

And the small mobile courtyards seem to have worked as now they will be disassembled to be re-purposed for other neighbourhoods around the Lithuanian capital.

The purpose of the temporary courtyards was to revive a certain public space of the city, to become heralds of change and then to travel to another place. On Naugardukas Street, these mobile platforms have already fulfilled their function,” said the Vilnius City Municipality Rūta Matonienė, Head of the Aesthetics Sub-Department.

The mobile courtyards have served to turn the street into something that is more like a cosy public space of the neighbourhood, the tradition of the Sunday market has taken hold when the traffic between Švitrigailas and Vytenios Streets is closed in the morning until noon and farmers' produce is sold there.

Resident input

Deciding on the next location of the courtyards (and by the way, new ones will also be built) involved consulting residents in the target neighbourhoods.

Although the original mobile courtyards were built on car parking spaces, this will not necessarily be the case for their new locations – a testament to their adaptability and flexibility.