When you’ve successfully searched through your car, purse, and pockets for all remaining change to feed a parking meter, that small plot of land is officially yours for the time you have paid for. On PARK(ing) Day, Friday, September 20, you are encouraged to think outside the parking spot and not just use it for your car, but to transform it into a temporary park in efforts to spread the message that we need more urban public spaces.
PARK(ing) Day is global and open-source event when people transform traditional metered parking spots into temporary public spaces. The event’s mission is to bring attention to the need for more urban open spaces and to generate a healthy debate around how public space is created and allocated, while temporarily improving a slice of urban human habitats by introducing some park-like qualities where urban nature is lacking.
The project started in San Francisco in 2005 when an art and design studio, Rebar, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park. This park lasted for two hours, but the concept has since been adapted to address other social issues as well, as people have assembled pop-up health clinics, urban farms or held demonstrations.
As PARK(ing) Day has expanded worldwide, Rebar has helped those who would like to join the movement out by providing tips and resources to get you PARK(ing). You can also plot your participation on the online map.
>>Learn more about how to get involved here.
