PARK(ing) Day London

PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots to help promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.

Park(ing) Day comes to London, Ontario this year on Friday September 17th, joining several cities worldwide participating. Organized by a group of engaged citizens who aim to improve the quality of life in London through creative, sustainable and independent thinking, PARK(ing) Day is an attempt to increase awareness of the need for public open spaces in the downtown core and across the Forest City.

The Origins PARK(ing) Day

PARK(ing) Day began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art collective, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in an area of San Francisco that is underserved by public open space.

Back then the project was named simply PARK(ing), and was devised as a creative exploration of how urban public space is allocated and used. For example, up to 70% of San Francisco’s downtown outdoor space is dedicated to the vehicle, while only a fraction of that space is allocated to the public realm. Paying the meter of a parking space enables one to lease precious urban real estate on a short-term basis. What is the range of possible activities for this short-term lease?

Since 2005, the project has grown into PARK(ing) Day, an annual worldwide phenomenon, created independently by groups of artists, activists and citizens. Along the way, Rebar has been supported by several non-profits that share our values and concerns about how urban space is used.

Additional information can be found at www.parkingday.org and my.parkingday.org