What: PARK(ing) Day 2013
When: Friday, September 20; 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Where: Downtown San Jose (full details)
It’s that time of year again—when on-street parking spots transform into temporary pop-up parks, when 10 bikes can park in the space normally reserved for one car; when people take over the streets (or at least a small part of them)!
Since its debut in 2005, PARK(ing) Day, the brainchild of the design studio Rebar, has evolved into a worldwide movement. In 2011 alone, people around the globe hosted 975 parks spanning 35 countries and 6 continents.
This year, Greenbelt Alliance has organized a bunch of our friends to take over downtown San Jose for PARK(ing) Day 2013. We’ll be joined by groups such as the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, the San Jose Museum of Art, the VTA, Fehr and Peers, and others. Check out our PARK(ing) Day page for the full list of participants and location details!
In San Jose, there is a dearth of accessible, attractive parks for its residents. Yet the amount of land dedicated to parking cars is comparatively shocking. For every car in America, there are seven parking spots. Meanwhile, neighborhoods like South Bascom in San Jose are severely lacking in park space.
PARK(ing) Day is an opportunity to send a message: people spaces, not parking spaces, are what’s vital for a city to thrive. Let’s take a page out of Los Angeles’ book and learn from their 50 Parks Initiative. We can create a similar movement here in San Jose!
September 20, 2013 is a day to challenge ourselves to rethink how we are using our limited urban land. See you out there on PARK(ing) Day!
Be sure to check out our photos from last year.
To learn more about Greenbelt Alliance’s work in San Jose, contact me at mbeasley@greenbelt.org.
