Students plan campus oases for PARK(ing) Day
Sept. 7, 2010 -- SF PARK(ing) Day, an annual event meant to inspire city dwellers to consider alternative forms of transportation by converrting parking spaces into temporary parks, will be observed on campus Sept. 16, one day before the national observation on Sept. 17. Design and Industry students will create five oasis-like spots providing games and relaxation.
The student designers' goal is to utilize only recycled or recyclable materials. Nothing used will be thrown away. Twenty potted trees were donated to the project, each of which will be planted on campus after the event. Carpet tiles, used furniture, synthetic turf, borrowed plants and an assortment of found objects may also be used.
The campus community can find these oases at the following locations:
- Fifth level of the parking garage (P1)
- Centennial Walkway, near the Humanities building and Thursday farmers market (P 2)
- Parking spaces on Tapia Drive and Holloway Ave. (P3 and P4)
- Campus quad (P5)
"It's fun, it's whimsical and a good opportunity for the students to learn what it is like to work on a group project drawing on diverse resources, under a real deadline, with a very public forum," said Design and Industry Lecturer Mimi Sheiner, who is teaching the DAI 300 studio class involved. The students began the project with pro bono input from planners and designers from two design firms, Wallace, Roberts and Todd (WRT) and Warner, Ruffo, Nunes and Shiles Studio (WRNS).
Assistant Professor of Design and Industry Josh Singer, who organized the SF State PARK(ing) Day project, said he hopes the campus community and general public will enjoy what the students create, including spaces that contain opportunities for sports and play. He invites anyone who would like to see how plans are progressing to visit the project blog.
Now an international event practiced in cities on three continents, PARK(ing) Day was created by a group of urban planners and designers to raise awareness of the amount of space the developed world devotes to cars and car travel. The first observation occurred in 2005, when a downtown San Francisco parking space was turned into a temporary park. Currently, 70 percent of San Francisco's downtown streets and parking are devoted to private vehicles.
Led by the Campus Transportation Committee, the event complements the University’s growing reputation as a green campus. SF State was recently named one of America's 100 Greenest Colleges by the Sierra Club and one of the nation's top environmentally responsible universities by the Princeton Review.
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