More Cities Join National Park(ing) Day

SAN FRANCISCO, 7/31/2008: Several additional cities across America will gain temporary new downtown parks for a few hours next month because of a public project sponsored by The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national conservation nonprofit.

The goals, according to organizers, are to celebrate parks and promote the need for more parks in America’s cities. In the past week, supporters in a number of cities have signed up to participate, including Eugene, Ore., Mt. Holly, NJ, Plantation, Fla., Redwood City, Cal., Santa Monica, Cal., and Springfield, Ill.

National Park(ing) Day is an annual event celebrating parks by creating temporary parks in public parking spaces. Supporters in more than 40 cities nationwide, including New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C have announced participation.

“By turning parking spaces into instant parks, National Park(ing) Day is a creative way to demonstrate the real need to create more parks in our cities,” said Will Rogers, TPL president. “Across America, cities are renewing their investments in parks because our civic leaders have come to recognize that close-to-home parks, gardens, and playgrounds are essential if we are to have cities that aren’t just livable, but lovable.”

In 2007, National Park(ing) Day spawned more than 200 new parks in more than fifty cities nationwide and around the world. See coverage from CNN.

Photos from last year’s event, as well as a full list of cities with maps and details is available online at www.tpl.org/parkingday.

National Park(ing) Day 2008 is a concept created by San Francisco art collective Rebar 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.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than two million acres nationwide. TPL depends on the support of individuals, corporations, and foundations.