Angelenos Put the Park Back in Parking!

On September 21st 2007, Los Angeles had 42 fewer parking spaces and 42 more parks. Occupying metered parking spaces, these temporary parks were created as part of the first "Park(ing) Day L.A." event. Park(ing) Day began in San Francisco a couple years ago, and has now spread to dozens of cities around the world. Nationally Park(ing) Day is sponsored by the Trust for Public Land.

Park(ing) Day Los Angeles grew out of the Livable Places' led Alliance for a Livable Los Angeles. Initially the loose Park(ing) Day LA coordinating committee expected three or four parks for L.A.'s fist Park(ing) Day, but a groundswell of interest produced parks from Long Beach to Eagle Rock to Westwood. The event drew attention to the excessive dedication of public space to cars, and the resulting lack of parks and other vibrant public spaces. Media coverage included KCRW, LA Times, La Opinion, and more.

Here are a few highlights of the day:

Strategic Actions for a Just Economy's (SAJE's) South L.A. park hosted an ice cream social where visitors were invited to participate in neighborhood asset-mapping.

Team Pedal Power (led by Livable Places, with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the Bicycle Kitchen) assembled a dozen bicyclists and bike-trailers carting around three 15'-tall sycamore trees as they assembled, disassembled and transported their temporary park in Koreatown, Westlake and Pico-Union.

The park of Lehrer Architects drew attention to the trade off between park space and carbon emissions. They constructed a large frame with SUV-shaped cut-out openings and an array of red balloons to represent the SUV and carbon emissions their fabulous park replaced for a day.

Trust for Public Land teamed up with Community Health Councils to create a fitness-themed mini-park in South Los Angeles, including plenty of fun activities with hula-hoops and jump-ropes. The park drew attention to the lack of parks in dense urban areas, and the resulting lack of opportunities for physical activity.

Greenmeme used dense clusters of tall bunchgrass around soft low seating to create intimate sheltered seating areas in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

After the hard work of reclaiming public space, participants shared stories and celebrated at Park(ing) Day's after-party, sponsored by ahbe architects, Alliance for a Livable Los Angeles, C.I.C.L.E., CRSP's Institute for Urban Eco-Villages, Echo Park Film Center, Farmlab, Little Radio, New Belgium Brewing Company, Public Counsel, Rios Clementi Hale, Ron Milam, and the Trust for Public Land.

Go to www.parkingdayla.com to view more photos and learn more about Park(ing) Day L.A.!