Parklets: Power to the pop-up

Take back the streets The year 2020 will go down in history as the golden age of parklets. In cities around the world, businesses spilled into the streets when Covid-19 made being indoors a health hazard. For a time, snagging a spot in scrappy plywood “[coronashaxx](” and sipping a cocktail in the very spot where you used to parallel park was the greatest luxury imaginable. But parklets are about more than outdoor dining. A paragon of [tactical urbanism](, they’ve been used for community gardens, bicycle parking, impromptu stages, and yoga studios. Long before Covid, city regulators and urbanists were battling over who controls the streets. Now that we’ve gotten used to conducting our businesses outdoors many are wondering: Why not [make parklets permanent](? Park it a moment and read on, won’t you? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Parklets June 23, 2021 Take back the streets --------------------------------------------------------------- The year 2020 will go down in history as the golden age of parklets. In cities around the world, businesses spilled into the streets when Covid-19 made being indoors a health hazard. For a time, snagging a spot in scrappy plywood “[coronashaxx](” and sipping a cocktail in the very spot where you used to parallel park was the greatest luxury imaginable. But parklets are about more than outdoor dining. A paragon of [tactical urbanism](, they’ve been used for community gardens, bicycle parking, impromptu stages, and yoga studios. Long before Covid, city regulators and urbanists were battling over who controls the streets. Now that we’ve gotten used to conducting our businesses outdoors many are wondering: Why not [make parklets permanent](? Park it a moment and read on, won’t you? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Richard Masoner Origin story Parklets for the people --------------------------------------------------------------- A [parklet]( is a small temporary public recreation space typically built on a city-owned parking spot. The [first parklet]( was a “[two-hour guerrilla art installation](” built in a metered parking space in downtown San Francisco. Conceived by the art collective REBAR, the pop-up public park (with real grass!) was meant to draw attention to the fact that 70% of the city’s downtown outdoor space was devoted to cars. REBAR leased the spot by feeding quarters to the parking meter and titled the project “PARK(ing)”. To their surprise, then San Francisco’s Planning Commission decided to [adopt the idea]( (pdf). REBAR made PARK(ing) Day an annual citywide festival for citizens to create their own temporary urban oasis. Many around the world were inspired by its grassroots spirit and PARK(ing) Day soon became [a global movement.]( Every September, [cities around the world]( devote a day to celebrating alternative uses of public space. Uber Eats NEED TO KNOW Tune in Tokyo --------------------------------------------------------------- We haven’t spotted any Olympics-themed parklets—yet. If we do though, we’ll be sure to write about them in [Need to Know: Tokyo Olympics](, our newest pop-up email, coming to you in July. [Sign up for our Olympics email now!]( By the digits [2:]( Parking spaces a typical parklet occupies [25 mph:]( Maximum speed on streets where parklets are allowed in the US, though additional safety measures can be added for areas with higher speed limits [8,550](: Parking spots New York City relinquished to restaurant parklets during the pandemic [1 billion:]( Parking spaces in the US [£5,000-£10,000 ($7,000-$15,000):]( Cost of a basic, single-bay parklet [AU$8,940 (US$6,775)](: Average additional monthly revenue for businesses with a parklet, according to a survey by the City of Yarra, Australia [~AU$12 million](: Revenue the City of Yarra expects to lose because it wasn’t able to collect parking fees during the lockdown [2](: Pedestrians injured when a car careened into an Irish pub’s parklet in San Francisco Daniel Boulud / Stephanie Goto Explain it like I’m five! Designing dining --------------------------------------------------------------- Most people know parklets as pandemic-era pop-up outdoor restaurants. In the US, where al fresco dining was far less common than in say, Paris, restaurants that managed to remain open extended their dining rooms to the streets. Far from shoddy, end-of-days pinewood sheds, some restaurants have built some truly refined structures. In New York, for instance, Daniel Boulud’s Michelin-starred restaurant serves diners in “bungalows”[with piped-in music]( and the Italian bakery chain Sant Ambroeus has charming train-like pods in its downtown location. In Utah, Café Galleria describes its dreamy winter set-up as “[reverse snow globes](.” And in San Francisco, State Bird Provisions has [won accolades]( for its tasteful take on curbside dining. But John King, San Francisco Chronicle’s urban design critic, quibbles about lumping Covid-era street eateries with community-led parklets. “Don’t call them parklets,” [he argues](. “Those scaled-down public spaces allowed under San Francisco’s parklet program must be open to everyone, not just paying customers. Real parklets also have higher structural standards, since they’re intended to last.” Quotable “I like to think of PARK(ing) Day installations as the gateway drug for urban transformation” —[John Bela](, public space designer and co-founder of REBAR Giphy Pop quiz Which was not held at a parklet? NFT art exhibitBicycle repair serviceWedding ceremonyChicken coop demo Correct. Yet. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Brief history [1970:]( Landscape architect Bonnie Ora Sherk revives dead urban spaces in San Francisco with palm trees, bales of hay, picnic tables, and live zoo animals. [1996:]( Permanent Breakfast, a global program where strangers eat breakfast together in an outdoor setting, kicks off in Vienna, Austria. [2005:]( Artist collective REBAR creates the first parklet in San Francisco’s SOMA district. [2006:]( About 15 activist groups create their own parklets around San Francisco, following REBAR’s example. [2008:]( PARK(ing) Day appears at the Venice Architecture Biennale. [2009:]( “Pavement to Parks” program (renamed “[Groundplay](” in 2017) supports San Francisco residents who wish to build temporary installations in unused public land. [2011:]( REBAR shares a DIY parklet manual (pdf). [2012:]( UCLA publishes a free parklet planning toolkit (pdf). [2015:]( A movable parklet is featured in London’s “Fresh Air Squares” festival. [2020:]( New York mayor Bill de Blasio says that dining parklets can operate year-round. [2021:]( The parklet craze reaches London with a campaign to increase the city’s greenspace; Lisbon’s [first two parklets]( are completed. Fun fact! Artist Gordon Matta-Clark inspired the parklet. In scheming their first pop-up intervention, REBAR says they studied “[Fake Estates](,” Matta-Clark’s documentation of the 15 irregularly-shaped New York City lots he acquired at a public auction. Sergio Ruiz Million-dollar question Are parklets here to stay? --------------------------------------------------------------- Parklets sound swell, right? Not everyone is a fan. Some believe that cities ultimately lose out because they’re unable to collect revenue from parking meters, not to mention limiting the space for cars. Advocates however argue that parklets come with many other benefits such as encouraging foot traffic to business districts, promoting alternative forms of transportation, and making a place more beautiful overall. During Covid-19, a parklet became a blissful oasis for urban dwellers who were weary of lockdown life. But as cities emerge from the pandemic, the main quandary now is whether dining parklets should be made permanent year-round fixtures. Small business owners are saying that having free access to sidewalks is a linchpin to their post-Covid recovery. In San Francisco, [the debate]( is boiling down to whether the city ought to extend a restaurant’s alcohol permit to outdoor tables. In Illinois, city officials are concerned about aesthetics and want parklets to have [a consistent look](. YouTube Watch this! Sidewalk stage --------------------------------------------------------------- New York City dancers take over a parking spot during the 2019 Climate Strike. Cidades para Pessoas Poll Should outdoor dining parklets be made permanent? [Click here to vote]( No, I’m still circling the block for parking.Yes, al fresco dining is great.I don’t know yet. I've never been to one. 💬 LET'S TALK In last week’s poll about the [Gini coefficient](, you were evenly split between keeping it and ditching it as a measure of inequality. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20parklets&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) [🎲 Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Anne Quito](, edited by [Annaliese Griffin](, and produced by [Jordan Weinstock](. [facebook]([twitter]([external-link]( The correct answer to the quiz is NFT art exhibit. Enjoying the Quartz Weekly Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Weekly Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States