parklet

This is a small park created in a parking space.  The original idea came from San Francisco in 2005 where two co-workers found a parking space nearby, put money in the meter for a couple of hours and quickly created a parklet using a roll of turf, a park bench and a potted tree. Two hours later they packed it all up.

This style of pop-up parklet continued in various parts of the world but then some people decided to formalise it and give it permanence.  You can now get a parklet which is a wooden construction complete with tables and chairs and synthetic turf and plants that can be trucked in and lowered into place by crane, or simply towed in and manoeuvred into position in a parking bay.  There have been trials now in Sydney in Oxford Street and in Glebe which have been very successful.  The community loves them as do the cafe and shop owners.  Some parking spots are lost but the gain of urban pleasure seems to outweigh this.