From Tactical Urbanism Action to Institutionalised Urban Planning and Educational Tool: The Evolution of Park(ing) Day

Krzysztof Herman,Maria Rodgers

doi:10.3390/land9070217

Abstract

A singular and modest activist action, a temporary park created in San Francisco, grew into the global urban Park(ing) Day (PD) phenomenon. This tactical urbanism event not only expanded to be annually celebrated in thousands of parking lots all over the world but became an inspiration for urban planning and policy changes. The permanent rendition of Park(ing) Day, parklets, resulted from the movement but did not stop the spread of PD itself. This article presents case studies from New Zealand and Poland, two geographically and culturally distant locations where PD has further developed and evolved gaining local qualities. Through research methods such as research in design, secondary data analysis and expert interviews we study the trajectory of PD evolution and the role and interpretation of it in different parts of the globe. The results show a narrative of successive popularisation and institutionalisation as well as diversification. Departing from its grassroots, guerilla and assertive traits, PD has grown to become an artistic, creative and urban planning tool. As an established, recognised action and an ‘attractive’ idea, PD has great potential for designer education, allowing a venue for implementing methods such as design-build and live project.

Highlights

The popularity and global reach of Park(ing) Day (PD) and the development of parklets presents an unprecedented evolution of a tactical urbanism action
After the first Park(ing) Day in 2005, it blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement
In 2008 there were more than 500 Park(ing) Day installations in more than 100 cities on four continents

Summary

Introduction

The first Woonerf, an environment unfriendly to cars but suitable for children and other pedestrians, was created as an illegal project led by local residents in 1968 in Groningen, the Netherlands [4]. Woonerfs or ‘Living streets’ have become popular in the Netherlands and other parts in Europe as public areas serving primarily as places for walking and playing, with only local traffic [5]. The history of car-free days can be traced as far back as the middle of the XX century. During the Suez crisis in 1956 and in subsequent years oil was rationed in the Netherlands and during this emergency November 4th became the first Car-Free Sunday [6].

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