manchester foe logo

Coming soon…. PARK(ing) Day (Friday 21st September)

Would you like to join us (and several thousands of other people around the world) and re-imagine a City Centre car-parking space on Friday 21st September?

Over the last 50 years our cities have been developed to make more and more space for the car. Supermarkets and malls, with massive car parks, have often overpowered local businesses in city locations. At the same time our streets have become noisy, polluted and unpleasant – these policies have high costs in terms of air pollution, congestion and health.

The typical European car is parked for 92% of the time, but 50% of the land in our cities is dedicated to streets, parking spaces, driveways, street signs and service stations.

In cities around the world, PARK(ing) Day sees citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces.

Imagine: how much better life could be if we designed our cities to move people, not cars?

Want to get involved?  We are inviting people to help us make one (or more!) parking spaces more sociable, fun and colourful on Friday 21st September 2018.

Please send us your ideas and let us know if you can help organise the event and/or join in on the day.

Contact: pete@manchesterfoe.org.uk  or call 07951 642858

 

See below for some ideas from previous events…

What is PARK(ing) Day. Providing temporary public open space . . . one parking spot at at time.

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out!

 

In 2011 we turned a parking space on Thomas Street into a space for tea, cake, games and discussion to engage with local businesses, residents, local councillors and passers-by to ask people to imagine how different urban space could be if our cities had fewer spaces for cars and more room for people.

Some more reading….

The Ideas Behind PARK(ing) Day (Manual)

Why parking spaces are being turned into pop-up parks (Guardian)

Electric cars are not the answer to air pollution, says top UK adviser (Guardian)

How green is my parking bay? Very, if you are in Manchester, this Friday. (Guardian)

 

Find us on

Facebook

Support Us

Donate or join us using a standing order or PayPal.

Twitter @foemcr