Thuan Nguyen - Group 4, Holloway

The white vehicle is stationed at my team's designated parking spot.


An older gentleman relaxing and reading the news.


An empty spot nearby, for reference.

Chosen words:

relax, life, breathe

Why I chose these words:

sanctuary - Evident in the second photo above is an older gentleman reading a newspaper in repose. When I took the photos around 1-2 PM on a Friday, the atmosphere around that particular parking space on Holloway was relaxed. There weren't too many students around, and there wasn't that much traffic. Combine these factors with nice weather, and I was able to leisurely compose and snap my photos with little interruption. Like the gentleman in the photo, after I took the photos I took a few moments to relax on that very same ledge he was sitting on.

life - The overhanging trees and vibrant purple flowers caught my attention. I find it beautiful when I can enjoy blooming plant life in the city, especially when the particular area is clean and taken care of. It's always nice to find green refuge in the city; it seems to always brighten not only my mood, but everyone else's as well.

breathe - The air felt clean and crisp at that spot--maybe because of the slightly cool weather. Compared to nearby 19th Ave, Holloway Ave seems relatively barren of cars, and I'm sure the lack of emissions was a reason I was able to appreciate the air quality.

Park(ing) Day David Cox -Group C

Metered Grind

Tapia space from sidewalk

Tapia space from stairwell

Charge, improvise, skate,


The park was beckoning me to charge its gnarled interior with reckless abandon. Its surface wasn’t perfect, as oil marks and ragged asphalt blemished its craggily surface. The confines of the park, while limited, provide the dimension of a concrete curb buttressed up against the parking space providing endless possibilities of skateboard fun. “Clink” goes the quarter plunging down the gullet of the parking meter. The sound brings a smile to my face, bringing similar feelings to mind as I once had arriving at the neighborhood park as a kid, or later as a teenager arriving at a skateboard park. My time is paid for, letting loose the wheels in my head to spin up my first improvised skate trick in my own private skatepark as my quarters’ seconds spill away. Get another parking space, cars! This one’s mine to grind, slide, and spin over till the meter signals that the park is closed till further notice. It’s time to skate!

3 Words for park(ing) day - Robert Schramm Group A

REDEFINITION

To redefine is to change a perception and set a new set of expectations. As park(ing) day seeks to question our use of urban space the point is to redefine what a parking spot is or could be. New Urbanism as a movement stresses among other things walkability, community, multi-use spaces, and greenery at the expense of the automobile. Redefinition could change the perception that parking areas are exclusively for cars.

COMMUNICATION:

A big part of the urban landscape involves communicating to its inhabitants through signage. It is an learned skill in urbanites to navigate through their city. In many of the previous projects I saw, the message seems a bit muddled. As someone in class said, “It looked just like they were selling trees there” - instead of a reclamation of urban space for greenery and recreation, it came off as sloppy commerce.

RESISTANCE:

As tongue in cheek as it may be, this is a form of resistance. The automobile has won the war but pockets of resistance can spread and weaken the grip. Park(ing) Day is meant to spread the word and create more resistance and sympathizers.

Kate Collett: Three Words

Replenish/Refuel
Connect

I chose my words based on what parks mean to myself and to others. I always think of parks as a place to replenish/refuel yourself. This could be spiritual (aka emotional and mental), through relaxation, meditation, or reconnecting with nature, etc. It could also be health-related, as in refueling with something to eat, getting fresh air, or taking a nap. I think of parks as a place where people can step outside of the stress of daily life and replenish or refuel themselves in some way. Also, people use parks to connect with one another, through talking, playing, having a picnic, walking the dog, etc. By creating a space where people can enjoy an activity or relax for a length of time, parks enable people to connect with others rather than just rushing by on their way to a destination.

I also considered that my group’s space on Centennial Drive will be near the farmer’s market. This made me think of community gardening in parks/urban spaces, which allows people to connect with others and replenish themselves through working outdoors and consuming healthy organic food. As shipping food long distances creates a lot of emissions, growing or buying locally might also be a thought to consider for PARK(ing) Day.

Three Words for PARK(ing) Day - M.Jackman

http://www.innovationcanada.ca/en/articles/recreating-nature

The words that come to my mind when I think about PARK(ing) Day are Recreate, Play, and Recess.

I like "recreate" because it is the root word of recreation, but taken in its root form it is easy to see the origin of “to re-create” as in to recreate ones psyche by taking a break from work or study to exercise or simply relax, or in our case to take a space normally used solely for the storage of personal vehicles and recreate a park where one can exercise or relax.

The word “play” fits into this analogy because that is what the act of relaxation through exercise was called when we were children and is, in my mind, the main reason for having parks and green spaces in urban areas.

http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/lists/stormtroopers-theyre-just-us

"Recess" is of course the designated time for children to take a break from their studies and recreate through play, something I think could still be useful to students at the college level.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/nyregion/02ritual.html?_r=1

K Kryska - Two Words for You Mr. PARK(ing) Garage

Verticality, sci-fi

Both of the words I’ve picked are based on environment surrounding the garage. Verticality has to do with the fact that the top of the parking garage is high enough that it has a view and leaves you isolated from the surrounding buildings. The obvious nature occurrence of this sort of thing is on top of mountains, hills and plateaus. The parking garage itself is like a small man-made plateau.

I chose sci-fi because of the steam the steam that spews out one of the structures right next to the garage (and can be seen from the top of the garage). The steam, in addition to the railings all over the parking garage and the large pipes nearby, lead to an industrial look that reminds me much of a space ship from a science fiction series or movie. This made me think of the PARK(ing) space being much like the “designated grow some plants because we need oxygen” bio-dome areas that often crop up in sci-fi. Science fiction media envisions environments where there are no plants so they have to be specially grown for the purpose of retaining a semi-natural area.

An example of a "biodome" as seen in Dr. Who.

Joviana Carrillo- Thoughts on Park(ing) Day: Specifically 3 Words

Jurassic

Adventure

Labyrinth

            I haven’t been in a park in a long time. Not since I turned twenty-one at least, and the cover of nature and darkness was no longer needed to enjoy an alcoholic beverage. And while this is a strange relationship to have with parks, it’s an inherent part of adolescence. Parks, to me, are a place of risk and danger. They’ve already established themselves as a place of wild among a manufactured world of concrete but at the same time, serve as a place of reflection and thoughtfulness. It is the physical embodiment of the time and place when you are wild and growing and dangerous and feeling a little isolated amongst everything else. Park(ing) Day represents this relationship as well. It’s an act of defiance, guerrilla tactics fueled by a little bit of angst, it’s risk and it’s danger. It’s redefining space, nature, and ourselves