Parking spaces transformed into public parks

Parking spaces have been transformed into places for the public to relax in as part of an annual event.

Parking bays in London were given a makeover that involved adding benches and fake grass so that people could take a seat and unwind.

Originally created by Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design collective, PARKing Day is an annual, one-day, global event where people independently but simultaneously temporarily transform metered parking bays into temporary public parks.

Anyone can take part in PARKing Day, though it is strictly a non-commercial project, intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.

Matthew Passmore, one of the founders of the event, said: “People can collectively make a real difference to the environment if they each do something to help it.”

A spokesperson for the ETA said: “We support PARKing Day because it challenges thte assumption that streets are for cars and not people.”

Earlier this week, more than 1,000 cities in 40 countries took part in World Car Free Day 2009, an event first organised in Britain by the ETA.