Today was PARK(ing) Day.  Here’s an article by Sara Steffan in the Downtown Devil on the various events in and around Phoenix:

Locals will be taking over parking spots in downtown Phoenix on Friday morning, and creating public-friendly space as part of a national event known as PARK(ing) Day.PARK(ing) Day began in 2005 through Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design studio, and thrived as a grassroots movement that spread internationally. This year’s launch takes place in Paris.

“We give our cars more space than we give ourselves,” local organizer Yuri Artibise said regarding the urban landscape of Phoenix.

The event encourages a variety of uses for parking spaces. ASU graduate student Ann Morton will crochet a blanket made out of caution tape to fit the parking space.

Other students from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts also will create several different “art interventions” to take advantage of the space, according to Morton.

Not every space will be used as artfully. Artibise plans to tailgate in his space.

While this is the second year PARK(ing) day has happened in Phoenix, last year’s event consisted of Artibise and a few friends tailgating with scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage.

“This kind of became something really cool (this year),” Artibise remarked of the new plans for the spaces.

Real estate agent Kimberli Baker is starting an extension of the event in Tempe this year at the same time.

“PARK(ing) Day lets us bring the park to the people and remind them that it’s OK to take even just a few minutes each day to come together with others, to play and to look for the beauty of nature in their lives,” Baker said in an e-mail.

Artibise said the event is a step in the right direction in getting people to rethink urban areas, especially in Downtown Phoenix.

“It’s building awareness that public space is there for us to use,” he said.

He believes Phoenix is not currently taking advantage of its outdoor space.

“We just don’t use it … we’re not a sidewalk culture,” Artibise said. “When you go to indoor places, it looks dead on the outside. We’re trying to make Phoenix feel vibrant.”

The event’s purpose is to not only to encourage creativity, but sustainability, in which Rebar outlines as one of its main focuses in creating it.

“In urban centers around the world, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,” Matthew Passmore, of Rebar, said in a press release. “PARK(ing) Day is about re-imagining the possibilities of the urban landscape.”

Contact the reporter at slsteffan@gmail.com

Thanks for the great article Sara!

Stay tuned for a link to pictures from today!