Park(ing) Day Turns Metered Parking Into Open Space
By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 17, 2013 9:30PM
PARK(ing) Day is an annual worldwide event where artists, designers and citizens transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks as a way of highlighting the need for more open space in urban areas, start discussions on how public space is created and used and to improve the quality of urban areas.
For Park(ing) Day 2012 organizers transformed nine parking lots on Milwaukee Avenue in Avondale into a mini golf course. Milwaukee Avenue will again serve as the epicenter for Park(ing) Day 2013 from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sept. 20.
Starting outside Cole's Bar (2338 N. Milwaukee Ave.) the Chicago chapter of Architecture for Humanity will turn three metered parking spaces on the street into an participatory art project—a temporary lounge where local artists, community members, passersby and architects can come and interact, relax, and leave their artistic mark on one of the many furniture pieces on site.
Think of it as dibs but with more color.
Organizers chose Logan Square because, according to Architecture for Humanity's Chicago chapter, the neighborhood has one of the lowest per-capita concentrations of green space in Chicago. Part of the installation involves decorating stools. People who decorate any can keep them or leave them to be auctioned off at a later date.