• Support TPL
  • Make a Donation
  • Monthly Giving
  • Stegner Society
  • Honorary Giving
  • Memorial Giving
  • Planned Giving
  • Give Stock/Mutual Funds
  • Mail/Fax Donation Form
  • Workplace Giving
  • Corporate Support
  • Shop&Support
  • Activities
    • National Park(ing) Day
    • TPL Trips Program

 

National Park(ing) Day 2008

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper visits the TPL Park(ing) Day park. Photo: Lea Parks

What is Park(ing) Day?
National Park(ing) Day is an opportunity to celebrate parks in cities and promote the need for more parks by creating temporary public parks in public parking spaces. National Park(ing) Day was Friday, September 19, 2008.
Read the announcement.
Creating a Park(ing) Day Park

Who participates?
National Park(ing) Day is an all-volunteer effort. All are welcome to participate. Check out the participants.

For more information, contact Matthew Shaffer, matthew.shaffer@tpl.org, (415) 495-4014.

2008 Park(ing) Day Coverage

Across globe, instant parks replace parking spots (Associated Press)
PARK(ing) Day's goal: a greener city (Tucson Citizen)
Trust for Public Land stages Park(ing) Day in NYC parking spaces (NY Daily News)
VIDEO Temporary Parks Popping Up All Over (My Fox Austin)
VIDEO Going Green: From Parking Spots to Hangout Stops (WCBS)
VIDEO Parking spots converted into mini-parks (ABC7 KGO)
A public art project will pop up downtown today (The Post Standard)
Get Ready for National Park(ing) Day (The Daily Green)
Today, it's a walk in the park (Jacksonville Times-Union)
A touch of green amid the asphalt (Honolulu Advertiser)
Rejoice! It's time to reclaim the car park (Guardian UK)
Instant parks to replace parking spots for a day (Charleston Gazette)
Temporary parks sprout in West Palm Beah metered parking spaces (Palm Beach Post)
Urban spaces get greened up for National Park(ing) Day (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Park(ing) Day Invades Tucson (KOLD News)
Parking spaces in Austin become parks (KXAN)
Parking Spots Transformed Into Parks (KIRO TV)
National Parking Day at Down Town Get Down (WCTV TV)
AUDIO It's Park(ing) Day (WNYC)
Community "Greening" Northwood Village for Park(ing) Day (WPB)
Park(ing) Day is TODAY! (Inhabitat)
Temporary park promotes green space downtown (State Journal-Register)
AUDIO Feeding the Meter at a Downtown Park Space (KCBS)
Art takes over parking space for a day (News10 Now)
Portland trades car parking spots for bicycle slots (NWCN)
Lauderdale Lakes: Parking Day to include concert (Sun Sentinel)
Fancy a piece of CBD real estate? Park your glass here (The Age)
The Year of the Parking Space (New York Times)
VIDEO Around Town - Helping create a park (WGN)
VIDEO Daily Debrief: PARK(ing) day turns gray to green (cnet)
Photos: A walk in the park(ing spot) (cnet)
Venture: Public Parking (Columbus Live)
Today is Park(ing) Day (Metropolis Magazine)
Mini-parks in parking spaces draw friendly viewers downtown (Tucson Citizen)
City Picks: National Parking Day, Festival of Beer, Future Sound of Breaks, and more. (Charleston City Paper)
New City Park! One Day Only! (New Haven Advocate)
New City Park! One Day Only! (New Haven Independent)
Spend a day at a Gras(phalt) Jungle (City of Coral Gables)
One Day Park in Rotterdam (Erasmus)
VIDEO Art takes over parking space for a day (News 10)
Art displays park downtown today (Syracuse Post-Standard)
'Park(ing)' Day and the creek cleanup (Syracuse Post-Standard)
A public art project will pop up downtown today (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Syracuse art project briefly brings police attention (Syracuse Post-Standard)
No Parking Anytime: Street art, legally parked (Seattle P.I.)
Downtown Portland street transformed into park (KEX)
VIDEO Charleston's green movement put into gear on Park(ing) Day (The Digitel)
Parking in a park? (Charleston Post and Courier)
Downtown GetDown channels Motown (Tallahassee Democrat)
Conservation group meters out a grassy park(ing) space (Boston Herald)
From asphalt to greenery: Downtown parking spaces become mini-parks (Tallahassee Democrat)
VIDEO National Park(ing) Day; Downtown Tallahassee (WCTV)
VIDEO Park & Parcel (Florida Times-Union)
Guerrilla greenery with Park(ing) Day LA (Los Angeles Times)
PARK(ing) Day (San Francisco Chronicle)
VIDEO National Park(ing) Day (WCIV ABC4)
VIDEO Make-Shift Park In Chelsea Celebrates National Parking Day (NY1)
VIDEO Parks pop up in parking places (WZZM)
Park[ing] Day transforms a little piece of asphalt into an oasis in the city (WHYY) AUDIO
Event turns parking spaces into green places (The Register-Guard)
Your perfect weekend (TimeOut New York)
Sustainable Disobedience: Plant Your Park (PlantYourPark)
Parking Space a Park for a Day (Harvard Crimson)
Spartanburg group raises green awareness (Spratanburg Herald Journal)
Park(ing) Day in downtown Charleston (I'on Group)
Demandan recuperar espacios públicos (El Caribe)
Taking back the streets in style (PlanPhilly)
Advocates of green space take to streets, make case (Des Moines Register)
Park for a Day (Jacksonville Daily Record)
Car grows grass for city's first Park(ing) Day (The Pitt News) PDF
National parking day without any vehicles (KHNL)
VIDEO National Parking Day Turns Spaces Into Oases In NY (WCBS)
Green grass replaces pavement for a day (9 News)
VIDEO National Park (ing) Day (Denver Post)
VIDEO Green Takes Over Denver Parking Spaces (CBS 4)
VIDEO Parking Spaces Go Green In Denver (CBS 4)
Double Parked (The Times-Picayune)
PARK(ing) Day in San Francisco on 9/19 (SF Weekly)
Photo of the week: No Park(ing) Day (The Brooklyn Paper)
Green scenes (GreenCityBlueLake)
From Parking Space to People Place (Gotham Gazette)
Broadway broadens pedestrian access (USA Today)
Orlando puts 'park' in downtown parking spaces (Orlando Sentinel)
'Parking' nature on the asphalt (The Rebel Yell)
Then it was gone (Ballard News Tribune)
VIDEO Park(ing) Day Helps Honolulu Go Green (KGMB 9)
Park Parking Only (Queens Ledger)
National PARK(ing) Day in Myk focused on development, politics (Rox Review)
From parking to parks (San Francisco Bay Guardian)
Park It (Philadelphia City Paper)
Parks become parks (Courier Mail)
Big Park(ing) Day picture gallery (Courier Mail)
City parking wins battle over art (The Star)
Vaga Viva 2008 (Transporteativo)
VIDEO Celebrating National Park(ing) Day (KVOA)
Park(ing) Day 2008 (Inhabitat)
Farm Parks in Rochester for the Day (R News)
VIDEO Pavement transformed into parks for a day (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Pre-Park(ing) Day Coverage
Civic adventures with Rebar design collective (San Francisco Chronicle)
Have a Green Hour in a Parking Space (Green Hour)
National Park(ing) Day - September 19 (Celsias)
In the Spotlight: Park(ing) Day Philadelphia (Next Great City)
Asphalt lots try green for a change (Palm Beach Post)
Plantation: Lot to become green for a day (Sun Sentinel)
Temporary mini-park will be downtown Friday (State Journal-Register)
From a parking space to a park (temporarily) (Tulsa World)
Dude, where's your car? (At home, we hope.) (Boston Globe)
Parking spaces into parks on National Park(ing) Day (TheDigitel)
National Park(ing) Day (Charleston City Paper)
Downtown goes park(ing) (Jacksonville Daily Record)
National Park(ing) Day debuts in Pittsburgh, precedes Land Trust Alliance Rally (PopCity)
Park(ing) Day on CasaSugar (CasaSugar)
Creating Natural Space in Urban Environments (Hawaii Public Radio)
Mini-parks to replace downtown, UA parking spaces Friday (Tucson Citizen)
Chalking the Park(ing) Day turf (Cherokee Street News)
Parking spaces turn into Park(ing) Day spots Friday (Arizona Star)
National Park(ing) Day in Atlanta - Friday Sept. 19 (Atlanta Daybook)
Event aims to show you can learn tennis anywhere (Tallahassee Democrat)
A walk through the parks (FSU News)
Group transforms parking spaces into parks (Monterey County Weekly)
Yes - Park(ing) Day on Friday (Seattle P.I.)
Parking spots will morph into parks (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Park(ing) Spaces (The Red Barn Cooperative)
How to Turn Your Parking Space Into a Park (The Daily Green)
Get Ready for Park(ing) Day 2008! (Inhabitat)
National Park(ing) Day - September 19, 2008 (Cherry Hill Courier Post)
A cool idea for parks, or a crazy one? (Knoxnews)
From Parking to Park---Until the Meter Runs Out (GreenSource)
Motorists May Find Green Inspiration (Pasadena Star-News)
For one day, parking space 'parks' will bloom on Grand Rapids streets (Grand Rapids Press)
Denver will celebrate National Park(ing) Day (Denver Business Journal and Rocky Mountain News)
Raising Awareness on Lack of LA Open Space (CityWatch)
Feed the Meter and Put Your Feet Up (Conscious Choice)

What next?
From this website you can access documents to help you create a Park(ing) Park or to promote National Park(ing) Day, tips for successful Park(ing) Day events, links to connecting to other Park(ing) participants, and links to pictures, news, and videos from past events. See below.

Creating a Park(ing) Day Park
Organizing a Park(ing) Day Park
Video and Photos from Past National Park(ing) Day Events
A list of 2008 National Park(ing) Day Cities, Participants, and Maps

How did Park(ing) Day start?

San Francisco art collective REBAR first created "PARK(ing)" in 2005 to re-imagine the potential of the metered parking space. In 2006, in collaboration with TPL, REBAR founded "PARK(ing) Day": a global exploration of the creative potential of streets.

National Parking Day is a celebration of parks and open space, and you are invited to participate. If you participate with The Trust for Public Land (TPL), you are asked to honor the terms of the license given by the inventors of Parking Day, the artists collective named REBAR (i) by working with TPL to give REBAR credit in any materials you display or distribute, and (ii) by not making a commercial use of this celebration in the form of sales or services in the park. If you create a park independent of The Trust for Public Land and you are a commercial entity, please contact REBAR at participate@parkingday.org to arrange for permission to do so under REBAR's Creative Commons License.

Updated 9/2008