Cincinnati Park[ing] Day 2009 Locations

Here is the list of planned locations for Cincinnati Park[ing] Day 2009. See the spots on a map here, and check out our Twitter feed for updates throughout the day.


DOWNTOWN:

Bean Bag, Soccer, Board Games and Chalk Art
Court St. around Walnut
9-5pm-ish
John and Jocelyn are coordinating one or more parking spaces on Court St., which will feature bean bag tosses, soccer, board games, chalk art, and plants for your enjoyment.

Live-Blogging Station
Court St. around Walnut
9-5pm-ish
Jenny of Urban Cincy and recycleD bin will be live-blogging all day from a Park[ing] Space.


OVER-THE-RHINE:

Park+Vine
1109 Vine St. between Central and 12th
8:30am-5pm
Ride your bike to P+V and enjoy a free cup of coffee!

Segway of Ohio
1150 Vine St. between Central and 12th
all day

City Roots
1133 Vine St. between Central and 12th
10am-5pm
OTR's own urban garden shop will have a green space set up for your enjoyment.

Tucker's Restaurant
1637 Vine St. between Liberty and Green
1-4pm
Enjoy outdoor dining in a Park[ing] space, chalk art by Alan, and live music by Chris and Chico of Lagniappe.

Outdoor Reading Room
Main St. between 12th and 13th
2:30pm on
Browse an amazing selection of used books from the Iris Book Cafe collection, and enjoy a great outdoor reading area.

Siesta in the Park
Main St. between 12th and 13th
2:30pm on
Relax and even take a siesta in a temporary park.

Cincinnati Park[ing] Day Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PARK(ing) Day 2009:
Parking spaces around the globe to be temporarily reclaimed for people

Cincinnati, Ohio, September 14, 2009 — In cities around the globe on Friday, September 18, 2009, artists, activists and citizens will temporarily transform metered parking spaces into public parks and other social spaces, as part of an annual event called "PARK(ing) Day."

Originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, PARK(ing) Day challenges people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. “In urban centers around the world, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,” says Rebar’s Matthew Passmore. “The strategies that generated these conditions are not sustainable, nor do they promote a healthy, vibrant urban human habitat. PARK(ing) Day is about re-imagining the possibilities of the metropolitan landscape.”

Since 2005, the project has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: PARK(ing) Day 2008 included more than 500 “PARK” installations in more than 100 cities on four continents. This year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe, including first-time PARK installations in South Africa, Poland, Norway, New Zealand and South Korea. “Urban inhabitants worldwide recognize the need for new approaches to making the urban landscape,” says Rebar’s John Bela. “PARK(ing) Day demonstrates that even temporary or interim spatial reprogramming can improve the character of the city.”

Over the four years of PARK(ing) Day, participants have broadened the scope of PARK installations to fulfill a range of unmet social needs. “From public parks to free health clinics, from art galleries to demonstration gardens, PARK(ing) Day participants have claimed the metered parking space as a rich new territory for creative experimentation, activism, socializing and play,” says Blaine Merker of Rebar.

“While PARK(ing) Day may be temporary,” Merker adds, “the image of possibility it offers has lasting effects and is shifting the way streets are perceived and utilized.”

Locally, there will be PARK(ing) spaces set up throughout the day in downtown Cincinnati and in Over-the-Rhine. Check the event's blog at cincinnatiparkingday.blogspot.com and Twitter feed at twitter.com/CincyPkgDay for updates on locations.

PARK(ing) Day is a grassroots, “open-source” invention built by independent groups around the globe who adapt the project to champion creative, social or political causes that are relevant to their local urban conditions. Rebar has exhibited PARK(ing) Day at venues worldwide, including at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale, ISEA 2009 Dublin, the Canadian Center for Architecture, the American Institute of Architects and the Van Alen Institute in New York.

More information regarding local PARK(ing) Day activities can be found at [insert your URL here] and a global map of all participating cities are available on the PARK(ing) Day Network at my.parkingday.org.


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About Cincinnati PARK(ing) Day (cincinnatiparkingday.blogspot.com). This event is being spearheaded locally by Maya Drozdz and Michael Stout of VisuaLingual (visualingual.wordpress.com), Dan Korman of Park+Vine (www.parkandvine.com) and John Stoughton (www.johnstoughton.com).

About Rebar (www.rebargroup.org). Founded in 2004 in San Francisco, Rebar is an internationally recognized art and design studio operating at the intersection of art, design and activism.

It's No Picnic-in-the-Park...But a Picnic-in-the-Parking Space for Design Students

Six years ago, students at the University of Cincinnati executed temporary installations in parking spaces that are similar in scope and intent to Cincinnati Park[ing] Day, which is scheduled for Friday, September 18.

"Architecture and planning students turned picnicking pranksters for a day – picnicking in a metered parking space on a busy downtown street, on a six-lane roadway median and on the courthouse steps. They and other students found creative ways to test and stretch the social boundaries of public spaces to find ways to improve Cincinnati’s public events." Read more here.

Park(ing) T-Shirts Now Available

The 2009 PARK(ing) Day t-shirts designed by Maki Kawaguchi are now for sale at my.parkingday.org. Two colors are available in both men's and women's sizes. Group discounts are available! Order 10 or more shirts and enter the coupon code [pdgroup] at checkout to receive 25% off.

Resources for Cincinnati Park[ing] Day

The Park(ing) Day Network is offering three FREE poster designs this year to help spread the word about the event, which is taking place on Friday, September 18, 2009. Download them here.

You can also purchase an informative PDF manual, which includes step-by-step how-to information, as well as global resources to inspire you to create lasting change in your local urban landscape.

Cincinnati Park[ing] Day 2009

Mark your calendars -- 2009 National Park[ing] Day is Friday, September 18. 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 the Trust for Public Land, REBAR founded PARK(ing) Day: a global exploration of the creative potential of streets. Check the Park[ing] Day Network site for more event details and resources. If you're on Facebook, RSVP to our event!

Cornhole at 5th and Walnut, downtown

This PARK[ing] spot lasted maybe an hour during rush hour yesterday morning, before it had to be packed up. Just a hop and a skip south of Fountain Square, this was definitely the most audacious location. Thank you, John and Alicia, for putting on the show!