Passersby on the corner of Allegan and Washington Square today discovered a tiny new park housed in three metered parking spaces. The temporary creation of this new public space was part of international [PARK]ing Day, designed to illustrate the importance of promoting public spaces.
Should Lansing place a higher priority on making the city more walkable and bikable? Activists from Accelerate Lansing and Let’s Save Michigan think so, and they created today’s event to dramatize the importance of thinking carefully about the kind of city Lansing should become. Volunteers encouraged people to stop and talk or join in the games. One energetic man even took a turn as one of the hiphop dancers.
A good time was had by all. However, the larger message is that we have to be thoughtful to ensure we make Lansing a place where this kind of spontaneous community occurs more often.
Here’s a stop-motion version of the events done by Bryan Robb of MSHDA, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
Park(ing) Day 2010, Lansing, Michigan from Bryan Robb on Vimeo.
