PARK(ing) DAY 2011: The Artistic, Civic, and Recreational Reappropriation of Public Parking Spaces

PARK(ing) DAY 2011 (Sept 16, through the weekend) will be invading numerous cities around the world and challenging the way people normally think about how we use our city streets.It's aim is to answer the question, "How can we create more community-gathering spaces"?

Here is a news report from Parking Day 2009:

Citizens, artists, and activists alike, are encouraged to take over parking spaces by creating temporary green spaces that spark interaction and engagement. For one day, the concrete spaces we are used to, become environmentally-friendly gathering spaces that are fine-tuned and geared towards people, not cars. Badminton street contests, mobile terraces, portable recycling crates, car-gardens, mini-golf courses, installations and performance art--in short, places of exchange and interaction. These are just a few of the many ways we can imagine the future spaces of urban life.

Since its creation in 2005 in San Francisco by Rebar, a collective of artists and landscape architects, PARK (ing) DAY has already gathered over 140 cities worldwide, in over 21 countries. Thousands of people, guided by the same principles, have created hundreds of installations on car-parks, sparking what is now an annual international event.

Who says parking spaces have to be filled with cars?

How will you celebrate PARK(ing) DAY ths year? Share your ideas and stories with us in the comments section below

For more info, please visit the Parking Day website