Turning Parking Spots into PARKS – PARK(ing) Day 2011

In cities around the globe today, artists, activists and citizens will temporarily transform metered parking spaces into public parks and other social spaces, as part of an annual event called “PARK(ing) Day on Friday September 16th, 2011.”

Originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design studio, PARK(ing) Day challenges people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broadbased changes to urban infrastructure. “In urban centers around the world, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,” says Rebar’s Matthew Passmore. “The planning strategies that generated these conditions are not sustainable, nor do they promote a healthy, vibrant human habitat. PARK(ing) Day is about re-imagining the possibilities of the urban landscape.”

This year Garden Station‘s Project Manager, Lisa Helm, has coordinated several local organizations to sponsor parks on Friday September 16 (same day as Urban Nights).  DaytonMostMetro.com is sponsoring a park in front of their clubhouse at 120 N. St Clair. Garden Station is sponsoring a park in front of Blind Bob’s in the Oregon District, and City Hall is sponsoring a park on Ludlow Street.  MetroParks is loaning plants for the day and Green Velvet Sod Farms has donated sod, which will end up at Garden Station.  This is the third year Dayton will participate in the event.

Since 2005, the project has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: PARK(ing) Day 2010 included more than 800 “PARK” installations in more than 180 cities in 30 countries on six continents. This year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe.

PARK(ing) Day is an “open-source” user-generated invention created by independent groups around the globe who adapt the project to champion creative, social or political causes that are relevant to their local urban conditions. More information regarding local PARK(ing) Day activities can be found at www.facebook.com/GardenStation and a global map of all participating cities are available on the PARK(ing) Day website, at parkingday.org.

Garden Station is a community garden and art park founded in 2008 on the corner of 4th and Wayne, and is created completely by volunteers and donations. We love to encourage citizens to roll up their sleeves and be active in improving their city on a personal level.

Founded in 2004 in San Francisco, Rebar is an internationally recognized art and design studio operating at the intersection of art, design and ecology.