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Friday, September 21, 2007

Bringing More Park Space Comes to Los Angeles -- Well, For a Day



Check out this map to find out where today parking spaces have been miraculously turned into a small green oasis.

It's all a part of Park(ing) Day LA, in which metered parking spaces are turned into temporary, mega-mini public parks.

Idea was first launched in San Francisco in 2005, and has now spread to several cities, including L.A.

The organizers write:
Los Angeles has fewer parks and vibrant public spaces than other large cities. L.A.'s public spaces have increasingly become dedicated to and degraded by large volumes of vehicular traffic. Park(ing) Day raises awareness about the need for community-oriented and recreational spaces such as parks, while promoting dialogue around creative alternatives to current uses of urban public space. Park(ing) Day L.A. is a call to action for all who seek to improve quality of life in our urban centers and are concerned about the disparities between public space allocated for parking cars and space made available for parks and other community infrastructure such as playgrounds and gardens.

The parking space parks will vary: "Some parks will be as simple as a layer of sod or artificial turf, a bench or two, and a few potted trees and shrubs. Other parks are being elaborately designed by professional architects and landscape architects."

A Park(ing) Day LA After-Party will then be held later today, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at 610 S. Ardmore (in the Public Counsel Parking Lot).

I'm almost embarrassed to say that in our Glendale 'hood, we've got not one, but two parks opening near us in the coming weeks.

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