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PARK(ing) Day Transforms Car Parks Into Creative Spaces

Adelaide designers, artists and anyone passionate about their city will be transforming selected on-street car parks into creative spaces for people to enjoy for one day only to celebrate International PARK(ing) Day on Friday 19 September.

PARKing DayAdelaide designers, artists and anyone passionate about their city will be transforming selected on-street car parks into creative spaces for people to enjoy for one day only to celebrate International PARK(ing) Day, today Friday 19 September.

PARK(ing) Day 2014 is bigger and better than ever and is being coordinated by Stylecraft and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects South Australia Chapter with support from Adelaide City Council.

These innovative PARKs are scattered along Leigh Street, Topham Mall, Hindmarsh Square and parts of Pirie Street, Waymouth Street and Hindley Street. People are encouraged to come along, celebrate creative design and visit the PARKs between 12pm and 2pm.

This year, in a world first, a PARK(ing) Day Smart Phone App will be available and exclusive to Adelaide. Volunteers from Code Fish Studio are developing this revolutionary app to enhance the experience of visitors on the city streets.

The Adelaide PARK(ing) Day smart phone app will incorporate an interactive map of all the PARKs and an option to vote in the People’s Choice Award. It is available for download now.

Adelaide City Council CEO and one of this year’s jurors, Peter Smith, said PARK(ing) Day is a great opportunity for those living and working in the city to create something unexpected and fun on our city streets.

“On PARK(ing) Day last year, we saw significant increases in foot traffic and the numbers of people stopping and spending time in the spaces. We counted almost 9000 more people compared to a typical day. Taking up parking spaces for something other than vehicles, just for one day of the year, attracts some very interesting ideas on how we might use city streets into the future.

“These opportunities serve as powerful symbols of communities wanting to improve the quality of their urban areas and the number of people participating has really grown. If we look back we can see that in 2010 there were only 12 PARKS, whereas there were more than 30 participants last year and in 2012,” said Peter.

A global event, PARK(ing) Day began in San Francisco in 2005 with arts collective Rebar. This will be the fifth year Adelaide has taken part.

It is based on the idea that paying a parking meter is like ‘renting’ a public space, and instead of parking a car, why not park something else?

Dr Angelique Edmonds, Lecturer in Architecture and Sustainable Design at UniSA and Creative Director of the School for Creating Change and also one of this year’s jurors, said the event is a perfect time for people to get out and explore the city streets.

“PARK(ing) Day encourages us to get creative, use our imagination and think beyond standard use of city space.

“This year the PARKs will feature a wide range of interactive, visually striking and thought-provoking installations and people can get moving with the Active Ambassadors, the Imagination Playground and The Swing Sesh (swing dancing).

“The South West City Residents Association and the Living Building Collaborative will also be there to share ideas and provoke discussion about sustainable living and design in their respective PARKs” said Angelique.

“We encourage everyone to hit the pavement on Friday 19 September and see how everyday spaces can be transformed through initiatives like this.”

For more information please visit adelaideparkingday.com

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