Park(ing) Day

Every year City Space hosts Asphalt Shorts, a compilation of short films focusing on urban spaces. Asphalt Shorts IV in San Francisco, shown in a parking lot, contained a short film called Park(ing) Day. The film provided a window into the reclamation of parking spaces in urban cities around the world.



This short film spotlights Park(ing) Day 2006 (full length video) in San Francisco. Park(ing) Day is an annual event created by REBAR, where reclaimed parking spaces all over downtown San Francisco are transformed into parks for the purpose of promoting public open space in urban settings.

In San Francisco there is no law against using a parking space for something other than parking a car. REBAR, an organization focused on unique ways to reinvent the ordinary, has taken the flexibility of the use of a parking space and expanded the idea of what a parking space is to what it could be. A parking space is public space, and with the right twist, can demonstrate the need for open space in urban areas by temporarily creating a park on a parking space.

The first attempt at Park(ing) intervention occurred in November 2005, REBAR reclaimed a small portion of the 70% of outdoor space in Downtown San Francisco devoted to the automobile, for people. Since then there have been 2 more Park(ing) Day’s in San Francisco. Mayor Gavin Newsom donated his parking space to the cause. The phenomenon has expanded to more than 20 cities around the country and the world. Even the Wall Street Journal has picked up on the growing alternative use for parking spaces.

Don’t get left out; get involved with Park(ing) Day 2008!