Categories: Events

Grab a Chair & Get Some Air: Tomorrow is the 5th PARK(ing) Day Philly!

Ready to sit on your butt outside tomorrow?

Good news, we have a day JUST for you!

Friday, September 21 is Park(ing) Day Philadelphia! This day is designed for you outdoorsy types that want to design, build, staff or visit a park to see how Philly can get more awesome public spaces instead of cars. Activists, artists & more transform metered parking spaces into temporary public parks to envision the need for more pedestrian-friendly spaces in our urban illadelph paradise.

Over 30 temporary parks were created in 2011 and it looks like there’s 50+ registered for tomorrow’s festivities from the Phila Parking Day map. Phila favs like PA Horticultural Society, Galleries at Moore, Pumpkin Philly, Clean Air Council, Zipcar, the PPA (hopefully someone will ticket them if their meter expires… jk), and Mayor’s Office of Sustainability are on the roster. You can catch the action between 9-5 PM, subject to when it’s legal to set up the ‘park’. Just find an area close to you on the map and relax!

Park(ing) Day is a global event since 2005 in San Fran (shocker) when a single metered parking space became a temporary public park.  Inspired by outdoor urban human habitats where we could just be lazy, the initial result of renting public space (or a parking space) was kind of amazing by Rebar:

 

Later in the early evening, Moore College of Art & Design is continuing festivities by having a few spots on 1900 Race Street in front of the college from 6-8 PM, with Dapper Dogs, Mary Seton Corboy (Greensgrow Farms), Drew Becher (PHS), and Bryan Hanes (Studio Brian Hanes) for their network: Designing Green. For the event, 4 designers created Parklets complete with patios, planters, trees, artwork, sculptures, bike parking & more.

 

Photos: Park(ing) Day & Park(ing) Day Phila.

Julie Hancher

Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake.

Recent Posts

25% of City is solar-powered*, Getting to Green & new watershed exhibit

The latest green news you missed. Here comes the sun! Approximately 25% of municipal city…

3 days ago

Native plants and the future of our drinking water

Native plants are part of a collective solution to the expanding problem of stormwater mitigation…

5 days ago

Earth week: Winner of SBN’s Food Saver Challenge, Swarthmore’s Solar purchase & more

Read the latest sustainability news. Earth Day was Monday is every day, and was celebrated…

1 week ago

Four Ways to Improve Recycling in Philly

Recycling in Philly is broken. Here’s how Mayor Parker’s administration could fix it. Recycling in…

2 weeks ago

The EPA’s Efforts in Climate Action, Public Engagement, and Earth Month Initiatives

We sat down with Adam Ortiz, EPA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator to chat about transparency and…

2 weeks ago

Is My Recycling Being … Recycled?

Philadelphians' skepticism about the City’s waste policies has led to an abysmal recycling rate. Here’s…

3 weeks ago