Park(ing) Day in Windsor?
I wanted to thank Justin over at Broken City Lab for reminding me about the up-and-coming Park(ing) Day, that is celebrated in over 50 cities worldwide.
ScaleDown would like to partner with interested organizations or individuals to celebrate Park(ing) Day by taking over some parking spaces for purposes other than storing automobiles. Where? Well, that’s up for debate, isn’t it?
How about partnering with Nemaste Yoga or the Green Corridor Club on the University of Windsor campus to take over a spot and teach yoga or create a DIY urban art installation? How about partnering with the new Made In Windsor store on Ottawa Street and occupy the spot right in front of their doors to set up some tables and supplies for an all-day craft making session? On Wyandotte Street east in Walkerville, enlist the help of the Ontario Association of Architects local chapter to help us show what GOOD urban design is all about.
It’s all up to us. So what do you think? Park(ing) Day is Friday September 18 this year, so that gives us plenty of time to come up with some creative ideas. You know how to reach me (chris at scaledown.ca) if you want to investigate the possibilites or notify us of something your group is putting together.
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It would be nice if it served a purpose and just wasn’t an artsy statement. I like the Made in Windsor idea where you could hold a class outside their store. Something charity-related would be nice…such as an outdoor blood clinic or get a salon to offer free haircuts outside with the $$ going to the cancer centre.
I think it’s a great idea. You would probably want to narrow down your choice of parking to take over as quickly as possible. You want to be able to get the appropriate permissions and give people who normally use the lot enough notice.
I did a little digging out here in Charlottetown today, specifically into parking by-laws. Aside from a possible interpretation of a loitering clause in the parking by-law, everything else is completely vehicle specific, which I imagine has nothing to do with this project
As far as being artsy and a statement — uhh, of course it is! Why else would you take over a parking space, demonstrating the mixed-use nature of a perceived single-use public asset? No matter what you decide to do, in the end, it will always be a statement. Of course, living is a statement, walking instead of driving, eating local instead of eating imported, even just chosing to take the stairs instead of the elevator is a statement.
Should be interesting to see what happens…
How about taking up the parkings spaces in front, and in the area of, Chanoso’s Restaurant, Oishii Sushi Lounge, Buda Global Bistro, The Room Nightclub, and 255 Catering, and use them for displays of buying local order to support your local farmers and eating healthy? Too many Windsorites drive to restaurants to consume imported, fatty foods. Talk about making a “non-art” statement.
The concept of Park(ing) Day is supposed to be commercial free. WindsorEats has been working on ways (for a few months now) on how to promote a “green space” on parking day without commercializing it, and it is a little tough as the Park(ing) Day licence states “For-profit groups, design, planning and architecture firms and other commercial enterprises (any “Commercial Enterprise”) may NOT place their respective organization?s brand, logo or other promotional imagery on signage and other materials associated with their PARK(ing) Day Installation, without the prior written consent of Rebar.”
It also goes on to state that “No participant in PARK(ing) Day may use their respective PARK(ing) Day Installation, or any derivative works of that Installation (including but not limited to photographs or video footage) to make specific offers for goods or services, or to offer specific promotions, discounts, or coupons, whether related to PARK(ing) Day or not, without the prior written consent of Rebar.”
Can you go ahead without their consent and do something? Sure…but what does that say about you as a person and an organization if you’re willingly infringing on someone elses copyrights? (I’m not saying that is what you said)
Essentially what the creators of Park(ing) Day wanted was to create awareness about the lack of public spaces dedicated to people, instead set aside for automobiles. From their site:
“…was devised as a creative exploration of how urban public space is allocated and used. For example, up to 70% of San Francisco’s downtown outdoor space is dedicated to the vehicle, while only a fraction of that space is allocated to the public realm. Paying the meter of a parking space enables one to lease precious urban real estate on a short-term basis. What is the range of possible activities for this short-term lease?”
Regardless, it is still a great concept that we throw our support behind 100%
Adriano, Please re-read my post. I don’t believe that I was advocating copyright infringement in any way. As a photographer I am well aware of the laws in this regard and also of the apparent “grey area” in the eyes of the public in this internet age. If I mislead you, I am sorry. My point was that parking spaces can be used to make political statements in addition to “artsy” statements, as Victoria lamented.
I hope to see you again at a trivia night at my local coffee house.
First I would like to say thanksfor coming out to our Trivia Nights! I really hope you’re enjoying them. If you’re at the next one in September, introduce yourself to me as I would love the opportunity to meet you in person.
Second, I realized after I had pressed “post feedback” that what I wrote sounded a little cold and maybe even accusatory. My apologies if that is how it came off to you or anyone else. Pina and I have both been following Park(ing) for about 2-3 years now and think it is an absolutely fantastic idea to get people aware of the lack of public spaces for pedestrians. I was simply just stating that the group which created it wants it to be strictly for educational purposes and have no attachment whatsoever to anything commercial and that people should keep that in mind when organizing their Park(ing) Day event. Now promoting a non-profit such as Scale Down, from what I read in their licence, that may be a great idea…
What about using the space to ask for non-perishable food items (including baby formula) to help all of those in our city that are currently out of work? There are lots of us to promote it and you could combine it with something artsy if you wanted to.