Last year, COVID canceled our plans to celebrate Park(ing) Day again, but this year we’re back! For the uninitiated, Park(ing) Day has been celebrated nationwide since 2005. It’s a chance to rethink public spaces — specifically parking spaces! Every year in September people around the globe reimagine street parking spaces into on-street parks, and this year we’re going all out on the Upper Westside! Design firm MKSK has partnered with us to redesign a semi-permanent pocket park on Brady Avenue.
Next Friday, September 24th, we’ll be transforming a parking space in front of Prevail Union. We’ll have live music from 4 to 6 PM and free pops from King of Pops between 3 and 5 PM. Be sure to swing by to see local artist Adam Crawford’s painted umbrellas that will not only be beautiful but also provide some much-needed shade from the Georgia heat.
Park(ing) Day began in 2005 in San Francisco and has spread around the world since. Noticing the amount of public space dedicated to cars, the originators attempted to reclaim some of that public space in a more useful way. This first park was simple: sod, a bench, and a potted tree in a metered parking space.
Over the ensuing years, temporary parks have sprung up globally on the third Friday in September. Some have libraries, gardens, or even swimming pools! In each instance, the purpose is to draw attention to the overabundance of resources dedicated to cars and, in many cases, the lack of available green space in the area.
The UWCID is in full support of this ideology; it’s why we’ve been working so hard to facilitate parklets all over our district. We hope that you’ll join us for Park(ing) Day 2021 and help us bring attention to the available opportunities to make our district greener and more walkable.
