Temporary appropriation refers to the action in which a person or a group of people carries out an activity in a public space for which it was not designed. According to Lara-Hernández and Melis,[1]​ it is a process that implies a dynamism similar to what Graumann called the humanization of space, which are the fundamental meanings defined by society internalized by the individual.[2]​.

Representative activities of temporal appropriation can be grouped into three main categories:.

There are two main factors that promote the phenomenon of temporary appropriation, on the one hand, the cultural factor (also known as the synthetic psychological environment)[3]​while on the other, the configuration or design of the built environment. The first refers to the set of symbols, values, attitudes, skills, knowledge, meanings, forms of communication, social structure and physical objects that make the public life of a given society possible. [4]​ While the latter refers to structures, buildings, and facilities created by humans that are collectively perceived as an environment in which people live and work.[5]​.

The term appropriation was first introduced by Korosec-Serfaty [6] during a conference in Strasbourg in 1976. Within the field of environmental psychology, the term appropriation is described as a temporal phenomenon that involves a dynamic process of interaction between the individual and their environment. It is a process similar to that of humanization.[2]​ Since then, several authors such as Purcell,[7]​ Pol,[8]​ and Yory[9]​with the theory of topophilia, have used the term to explain the theoretical link between people and places. These authors consider appropriation as an innate human need that can be expressed through activities that occur in the urban landscape. Public spaces are an essential part of the urban landscape and, therefore, their design is strongly linked to the possibility of activities related to Temporary Appropriation. In other words, although appropriation is a broader term, its temporal variation refers more specifically to public spaces, such as streets, parks or squares.[10]​[11]​ In the latter, emphasis has always been placed on the informality of this action (for more details see Temporary appropriation and urban informality: Exploring the subtle distinction). Dr. Lara-Hernández conceptualizes temporal appropriation as a consequence of the need to adapt the environment to the human needs of a city that deprives the population of reference points due to sudden and unexpected changes.[12] Furthermore, it has been claimed that temporal appropriation plays a crucial role in increasing urban resilience (see Temporary Appropriation in Cities: Human Spatialisation in Public Spaces and Community Resilience).