Park(ing) Day to Showcase Philly Parklets

September 20, 2012

Park(ing) Day 2012 in Philadelphia will showcase the ingenuity of almost 50 teams of people and their ideas for how to put almost 60 on-street parking spaces into more productive use for a day. But three parking spaces being showcased tomorrow will be transforming their respective neighborhoods for more than just one day…

As you may recall, the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (MOS) put out an RFP for interested community groups to receive permission to convert two parking spaces into seasonal parklets and get $5,000 towards the project. Here is an update on three of the grantees:

The new parklet outside Pumpkin Market was sponsored by the South of South Neighbors Association (SOSNA) and designed by Johnston Stromberg Architecture. The design includes planters, lots of seating and an interesting canopy structure.

The Parklet at the Pumpkin Market integrates appropriate and soothing fall colors. Source: http://southofsouth.org/news/introducing-pumpkin-parklet

The Logan Community Development Corporation’s new parklet will also be featured on Park(ing) Day. The CDC was able to match the $5,000 grant from MOS with crowd-sourced donations through Kickstarter. The parklet includes several distinct seating areas and a central stage/performance area. The parklet’s location near the neighborhood library creates even more opportunities for programming such as movie screenings.

The Logan CDC matched the City grant for their parklet through a Kickstarter campaign. Source: http://logancdc.wordpress.com/

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation is also taking this chance to showcase their designs for a parklet of their own at 10th and Cherry streets.

Check out the full list of Park(ing) Day sites at: http://www.parkingdayphila.org/interactivemap