PARK(ing) Day
Celebrate PARK(ing) Day 2020 with ASLA
(Above) ASLA California Sierra Chapter parklet from PARK(ing) Day 2019 | Photo by Joe DiGiorgio
Background | 2020 PARK(ing) Day Challenge | Resources
On Friday, September 18, the ASLA community will participate in PARK(ing) Day, the annual national event that encourages landscape architects, students, ASLA chapters, and all those concerned about the quality of the public realm to re-imagine our urban streetscapes one metered parking space at a time. The creative transformation of parking spaces into parklets and inventive alternatives to our automobile-dominated environment is normally a one-day event, demonstrating a reimagined future for city streets. But the future is already here.
In a sense, every day in 2020 is PARK(ing) Day as communities across the country and around the world are forced to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic by rethinking the public realm. In hundreds of cities, curbside space is being repurposed for dining, commerce, or recreation. Cars have been banned and streets turned over to pedestrians and bike riders. Restaurants and shops are responding to the need for social distancing and concerns about indoor environments by moving tables or displays into the street. And without a doubt, the act of reimagining streets is fundamentally landscape architecture. The pandemic has forced a rethinking of how we use, design, and relate to streetscapes and public environments, now and in a post-pandemic future, and the profession is at the center of it.
This year’s PARK(ing) Day challenge is to explore the design of imaginative curbside spaces for restaurants, businesses, recreation, and other public uses that adhere to safe, socially distant principles -- all within the confines of a parking space (or two).
There are three ways to participate:
- Take photos of existing repurposed street-side spaces and streetscapes in your community that reflect good design principles and share them. Be sure to include the designer’s name if you know it.
- Build out a traditional PARK(ing) Day space that is a model for reimagined curbside activity.
- Or draw, sketch, or build a model of a virtual solution that demonstrates how in this time of crisis, and later in the post-pandemic world, streets (with the help of landscape architects) can be transformed. Traditional PARK(ing) Day spaces are fun and creative, and of course the virtual versions can be, too.
Then, on September 18, post your images on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #ASLAParkingDay and #ReimagineStreets. And be sure to say how your idea could impact your community’s response to the pandemic—and beyond—and how landscape architects can take the lead.
Participants should be mindful about issues related to racial justice and equity in their projects and social media messaging. Some of these issues are explored in “Safe Streets Are Not Safe for Black Lives” by Dr. Destiny Thomas.
We’ll compile the posts and select the best of the best among real and imaginary designs from student, firm, and chapter submissions and highlight them across ASLA’s national communications platforms. Good luck and have fun (safely, of course)!
We want everyone celebrating PARK(ing) Day 2020 to do so safely. Due to COVID-19, PARK(ing) Day in some areas may be restricted or even canceled. Make sure any planned parklets comply with local health measures and require the proper health precautions (social distancing, face masks, etc) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Your local ASLA Chapter will be able to tell you more about PARK(ing) Day plans in your area.
PARK(ing) Day One-Pager
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What is Parking Day?