San Francisco based art collective Rebar decided to take the concept of a parking spot to the next level. On November 16th they installed an actual park in a parking space in downtown San Francisco for their project PARK(ing), “a temporary urban park”. People enjoying the park had to feed the parking meter (ie. pay the rent) in order to keep the park open.
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.
Special thanks to Jason Laskodi for the tip on this awesome urban prank (he came across it on kottke.org)
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- PARK(ing) Day 2007, Turning Parking Spaces Into Parks
- PARK(ing) Day at Ritual Coffee Roasters
- Stan, Submerging Man by Finley Fryer in SOMA Park
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so, do you think, hypothetically, if you powered your own equipment and stuff, you could throw a guerilla rock show on a parking space as long as you paid for it?
I think that’s a great idea! Here back east I know of a lot of towns that could really benefit from such a novel approach. Not just one parking space though; they should do the whole town.
– Alph
Very 21st Century friends. If you need a scout for New York City, I’m your man. There are plenty of spots that need some green. Thanks for the inspiration.
AWESOME=====
I wood totally rather hang out than pay the meter.