No PARK(ing) on the Dance Floor! Woo! Woo!

No PARK(ing)?

A temporary park in a parking space, what's not to like? Come on, all the cool kids are doing it. Even Mayor Gavin Newsom of SF is redecorating!

Build something wacky or spectacular or superbly suburban, then sit (you did bring a bench, didn't you?), smell the daisies and perhaps a bit of bus fuel. Oh wait, this is SF and the buses are electric. Nevermind.

Here's the skinny from the organizer, Matt, who is Andrea's (from Superhero Designs) husband. Wow, that's an awkward sentence. But you know what I mean. I hope.

I didn't put Matt's nifty pictures in here, but there are some on the official PARK(ing) site and some over on Andrea's blog, so you can always take a wee trip through cyberspace to see them.

PARK(ing) Day 2007! (From Matt)

PARK(ing) Day grew out of a temporary public intervention that my art collective, REBAR, created in 2005. Way back then we were interested in exploring the range of possibilities for reprogramming the metered parking space for alternative activities. And, as it turns out, it is apparently NOT illegal in San Francisco County to occupy a metered parking space with something other than a private vehicle.

In response to the worldwide interest in that original project , REBAR created the first "PARK(ing) Day" in 2006, which included 47 PARKs in 13 cites around the globe, including San Francisco, Berkeley, Cleveland, NYC, London, Glasgow, Manchester, Rio de Janeiro, and others. The Mayor of San Francisco even built a PARK in his parking space!

This year we are doing it again! On 9/21/07 people around the globe will convert metered parking spaces into temporary public open spaces. So far this year is sizing up to be absolutely HUGE - there will be dozens of PARKs in SF, Berkeley, NYC and LA, and new participants in cities around the world, including Paris, Barcelona, Melbourne, Berlin, Munich and Toronto.

REBAR will be creating the "PARKcycle" a mobile, human-powered public park, which we will pedal around San Francisco, to deliver temporary public space where and when it is needed.

So, I'm writing to ask you to help us spread the word!

If you have a blog, bulletin board, or bullhorn, please tell you friends about PARK(ing) Day. Plus it's easy to get involved and build a park in your own urban environment!

Everything you need to know is on the PARK(ing) Day website and you can see the video trailer of last year's event here.

The goal of PARK(ing) Day is to:

1) inspire people to reconsider the way our streets are used;

2) generate meaningful dialog regarding the planning principles that continue to unsustainably privilege the automobile above other uses of public space,

3) and to put a big smile on your face!

So please, help us spread the word, build a PARK in your local community, or write about it on your blog.

Thanks so much!

Matt