In cities around the globe, artists, activists, and NGOs transformed parking spaces on September 21st into temporary public parks and social spaces as part of the annual “Park(ing) Day” event. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) participated in Park(ing) Day 2012 with events in three cities: Buenos Aires, Jakarta, and Rio de Janeiro.

ITDP Argentina created several parklets in the Palermo neighborhood of downtown Buenos Aires. ITDP Brazil partnered with Transporte Ativo and Studio X to create “leisure and fun space” at two locations in Rio Centro: Rua Senador Dantas and Praça Tiradentes. In Jakarta, ITDP Indonesia hosted an event and inviting people to participate by creating their own parklets all over the city, which can be found on their facebook page.

“Park(ing) Day is a great opportunity to educate the public about how street space is being reallocated from private car parking to cafes, cycling lanes, pedestrian paths, and parks.” says ITDP CEO Walter Hook. “Since every trip begins and ends in a parking space, parking management is the ‘Achilles heel’ of motorization.”

Park(ing) Day was created in 2005 by San Francisco-based art and design studio Rebar, and the event has grown rapidly. Each year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe.