City Space Architecture promotes the International Parklet Symposium
Bologna (Italy) & online / 18-20 September 2024
.
On 19th-20th September 2024 City Space Architecture promoted a symposium in Bologna, with proceedings to be included in a special issue of The Journal of Public Space on “Parklets, Temporary Uses and Co-creation of Public Space”. The symposium was anticipated with an online gathering on 18th September with global scholars and practitioners who are developing key contributions in the field of public space.
.
CONCEPT NOTE
The modern parklet was created in San Francisco in 2009, building upon a long legacy of temporary occupation of roadway space to create tiny public spaces. Initially conceived of as a temporary expansion of the sidewalk into the vehicular right of way, parklets have evolved into their own unique space typology. The City of San Francisco Parklet Program has been imitated and adopted globally and parklet-like spaces grew steadily in cities around the world from 2009 to 2019. 2020 witnessed a radical expansion of non-conventional use of the roadway as many communities sought to use outdoor public spaces in the streets as gathering places and for commercial outdoor dining and retail. While recent years have witnessed a contraction of these pandemic-era uses of streets, many communities are continuing to grapple with some fundamental questions about these spaces; such as: Are they public or private? How to balance commercial and community uses of the curb lane? Who administers these programs and how do municipalities manage a fee structure for public and commercial uses of the public right of way? How do cities balance this explosion of user-generated uses of the public right of way while maintaining standards of accessibility, public safety, and design quality in the public realm?
.
Initiators and curators
John Bela (Bela Urbanism), our Founder and President Luisa Bravo (City Space Architecture), Ryan Smolar (PlacemakingUS), Robin Abad Ocubillo (City of Oakland, USA) and Ilaria Salvadori (City of San Francisco, USA)
.
with the patronage of
Culture Commission, Chamber of Deputies, Italian Government
United States Embassy in Rome
Emilia-Romagna Region
Municipality of Bologna
.
.
on the occasion of
European Mobility Week “Shared Public Spaces” promoted by Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi and Park(ing) Day
.
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
.
DAY 1 (two sessions) – Wednesday, 18 September 2024 / ONLINE
An online gathering of global scholars and practitioners to present initiatives on the transformation of public space, with round table discussions and engagement of the online audience in Q&A sessions.
.
DAY 2 (whole day) – Thursday, 19 September 2024 / IN PERSON
Gather in Bologna and participate in a day-long symposium on parklets, temporary uses, and co-creation of public space, facilitated by today’s leaders in the field.
.
DAY 3 (morning) – Friday, 20 September 2024 / IN PERSON
Participate in Bologna’s first-ever Park(ing) Day event: after four years from the first-ever parklet in Bologna, that we implemented as part of the A-Place project (read more here), to celebrate Park(ing) Day we made another parklet just for one day! Yes we did it again! and it was such a nice moment and at the same time a very bold initiative!
.
DAY 3 (afternoon) – Friday, 20 September 2024 / IN PERSON
A smaller group of leaders in the field will gather at Museo Spazio Pubblico to begin to craft a Parklet Manifesto for the European Union.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
