On Friday, September 19, the annual celebration of Park(ing) Day LA hits the streets as Park-itects throughout the city step up to the curb, put a quarter in the meter, and proceed to transform metered curbside parking into urban parks, just for the day.
PARK(ing) Day is an annual worldwide event where artists, designers and citizens transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks. The event originated in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco based art and design collective, transformed a metered parking spot into a park-for-a-day in an effort to make a public comment on the lack of quality open space in American cities. Their goal was to reprogram the urban surface by reclaiming streets for people to rest, relax and play and their mission is to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.
In Los Angeles, this movement led to the installation of permanent “parklets” as part of the Complete Streets initiative, which have transformed street parking spaces on Spring Street in Downtown, York Boulevard in Highland Park, and Huntington Drive in El Sereno into permanent public, people-oriented seating and recreation spaces. Parklets encourage pedestrian activity by providing a space that breaks from the flow of pedestrian traffic, which is especially beneficial in areas that lack sufficient sidewalk width or access to public space.
This Friday, in anticipation of the transformations expected as part of the Union Station Master Plan, LA Metro will participate in Park(ing) Day with a pop-up park and event in a corner of Union Station’s Alameda-facing parking lot. The park, designed by artist Alexis Disselkoen, will be open 12pm – 5pm and will host a free public game of Lotería. Read more about the Union Station event, and keep an eye out for pop-up parks throughout the city on Friday!