TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES
POP.Park: Reclaim Your Street
Date: Friday 9.18
Start Time: 2:00pm
Location: Commons Gallery, Barney building
How can we reclaim our public space from the private automobile? Join Transportation Alternatives as we discuss Park(ing) Day NYC, POP.Park and other creative ways to re-define our streets as places for people and not just cars.
It’s estimated that 80% of New York City’s public space is made up of our streets and sidewalks. With less than half of New Yorkers owning cars, it only makes sense that these streets are allocated for the maximum benefit of the public. That is, more space for people and less space for cars.
Park(ing) Day NYC is a local collaboration which supports the conversion of boring parking spots throughout New York City’s 5 boroughs into human-friendly places for a single day. These small, temporary public spaces provide a breath of relief from the auto-clogged reality of New York City, and aim to spark dialogue about our valuable public space and how we choose to use it.
The POP.Park competition, new this year, takes Park(ing) Day a step further and challenges New Yorkers to design a portable and affordable pre-fabricated POP.Park that people can use to reclaim public space each and every day of the year. POP.Parks will be public spaces produced from readily available, reclaimed or post-consumer recycled materials that will emerge from a regular, cardboard box, and be made in under $20.00.
The workshop will begin with a brief overview of Park(ing) Day and T.A.’s work to reclaim space for pedestrians and cyclists and be followed by a 45-minute walking tour of the finalist POP.Park installations around Union Square with interactive discussion.
Transportation Alternatives’ mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile, and to advocate for bicycling, walking and public transit as the best transportation alternatives. T.A. seeks to change New York City’s transportation priorities to encourage and increase non-polluting, quiet, city-friendly travel and decrease private car use. We seek a rational transportation system based on a “Green Transportation Hierarchy,” which gives preference to modes of travel based on their benefits and costs to society.
Workshop Presenters:
* Lindsey Lusher Shute, Director of Environmental Programs
* Julia De Martini Day, Planner/Advocate – Julia joined Transportation Alternatives as a Planner/Advocate in November 2008. Prior to T.A. she worked with the Project for Public Spaces and the League of Young Voters in St. Louis, MO.
