Parking Day Brings Anti-Car Protest to Major Cities
In major cities around the globe Sept. 18th is PARK(ing) Day – where pro-bike / anti-car protesters peacefully set up picnic areas and other “park like” sets in metropolitan parking spots. The goal of this protest is to get people walking, biking, using public transit; anything to cut down on traffic, congestion and pollution caused by mass amounts of automobiles traveling through large urban areas. PARK(ing) Day originated in San Francisco back in 2005, with the intent to challenge how people use streets, reinforcing the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure.
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Now I’m going to take a different road here (pun intended) then some of my fellow automotive blogs are heading down – which usually only consist of calling these protesters hippies/hipsters. We at Automopedia applaud the right to protest, and get your point across (though as we traveled past one Center City Philadelphia spot earlier there was only one couple within two blocks – motivation people, take over the entire street!) Yet, we can’t help but think certain anti-car protests that go on are not well thought out: What if a disabled person needs a spot close to their destination, or emergency services needs to be exactly where you are? Still, It’s a beautiful day on the East Coast to set up a picnic in the middle of 16th & Walnut.
PARK(ing) Day 2009 Press Release:
Parking spaces around the globe to be temporarily reclaimed for people
San Francisco, Calif. September 18, 2009 — 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.”
Originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, PARK(ing) Day challenges people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based 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 strategies that generated these conditions are not sustainable, nor do they promote a healthy, vibrant urban human habitat. PARK(ing) Day is about re-imagining the possibilities of the metropolitan landscape.”
Since 2005, the project has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: PARK(ing) Day 2008 included more than 500 “PARK” installations in more than 100 cities on four continents. This year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe, including first-time PARK installations in South Africa, Poland, Norway, New Zealand and South Korea. “Urban inhabitants worldwide recognize the need for new approaches to making the urban landscape,” says Rebar’s John Bela. “PARK(ing) Day demonstrates that even temporary or interim spatial reprogramming can improve the character of the city.”
Over the four years of PARK(ing) Day, participants have broadened the scope of PARK installations to fulfill a range of unmet social needs. “From public parks to free health clinics, from art galleries to demonstration gardens, PARK(ing) Day participants have claimed the metered parking space as a rich new territory for creative experimentation, activism, socializing and play,” says Blaine Merker of Rebar.
“While PARK(ing) Day may be temporary,” Merker adds, “the image of possibility it offers has lasting effects and is shifting the way streets are perceived and utilized.”
In San Francisco, Rebar will deploy its “PARKcycle” – a pedal-powered mobile park, capable of delivering public green space where and when it is needed. “This year we’re going to outfit the PARKcycle with a new type of park. We are keeping the details secret, but we’ll be out pedaling around and visiting other PARK(ing) Day installations around the city,” says Rebar’s Teresa Aguilera. “If you live or work in San Francisco, keep your eyes open for a twenty-two foot long park pedaling through the streets. It will be hard to miss,” she adds.
PARK(ing) Day is a grassroots, “open-source” invention built 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. Rebar has exhibited PARK(ing) Day at venues worldwide, including at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale, ISEA 2009 Dublin, the Canadian Center for Architecture, the American Institute of Architects and the Van Alen Institute in New York.
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