KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The second PARK(ing) Day in Knoxville history was held on Friday, September 20th.
PARK(ing) Day is a day to ask people to imagine what metered parking spaces could look like if they were only occupied by pedestrians. It's also an opportunity to take back the spaces we previously gave to our cars.
PARK(ing) Day is a free and public event that was originally started in 2005 in the city of San Francisco by a design group called Rebar. It was started as a way to call attention to the need for more urban open space.
The founders of PARK(ing) Day created a tiny park among the sea of parking spaces showing the value of the land that had been dedicated solely to parking.
Three students were introduced to PARK(ing) Day in architecture school and decided to bring it to Knoxville. Knoxville's first annual PARK(ing) Day included more than 30 participants.
PARK(ing) Day in Knoxville 2019 had over 40 converted metered parking spots into small parks for people to enjoy.Little parks were spread across three blocks of Gay Street and transformed the street into a social hub.
PARK(ing) Day showcases the imagination of students, artists and designers. The use for these parking spots is endless. Examples from previous PARK(ing) Days include a yoga park, a dog park, a putt-putt course and many more.
All the parking spaces for Fridays event were donated for the day by the City of Knoxville.