PARK(ing)
The initial PARK(ing) intervention occurred on November 16, 2005 from noon until 2 p.m., without incident or interference from any level of institutional authority. Sort of makes you wonder what else you can do in a parking space . . .
Providing temporary public open space in a privatized part of town.
One of the more critical issues facing outdoor urban human habitat is the increasing paucity of space for humans to rest, relax, or just do nothing.
For example, more than 70% of San Francisco’s downtown outdoor space is dedicated to the private vehicle, while only a fraction of that space is allocated to the public realm.
Feeding the meter of a parking space enables one to rent precious downtown real estate, typically on a 1/2 hour to 2 hour basis. What is the range of possible occupancy activities for this short-term lease?
PARK(ing) is an investigation into reprogramming a typical unit of private vehicular space by leasing a metered parking spot for public recreational activity.
We identified a site in an area of downtown San Francisco that is underserved by public outdoor space and is in an ideal, sunny location between the hours of noon and 2 p.m. There we installed a small, temporary public park that provided nature, seating, and shade.
Our goal was to transform a parking spot into a PARK(ing) space, thereby temporarily expanding the public realm and improving the quality of urban human habitat, at least until the meter ran out.
By our calculations, we provided an additional 24,000 square-foot-minutes of public open space that Wednesday afternoon.
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Click to view how and see other examples
It’s kind of a cool idea. I’ve visited a number of major cities and been surprised with how little park space there is. Cost wise it wouldn’t be cheap. But if you plan to do it a few times, the cost would actually go down with care.
Tags: Architecture, Community, Interesting, Local
