Due to the continuing population growth in large cities and the associated densification of inner-city areas, there is an increasing lack of green and open spaces in many urban districts, so public space is becoming a scarce commodity [1]BMUB – Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (2017): Weißbuch Stadtgrün. Grün in der Stadt – für eine lebenswerte Zukunft. URL: ... Continue reading. This brings up the question of which areas in the city can be transformed into meeting place so that the social function of public spaces is strengthened. Since the street space is a municipal area and this traffic zone is reserved for the public, i.e. for all residents, there is a lot of potential for transformation here [2]Nagel, R. (2020): Baukulturbericht. Öffentliche Räume. 2nd edition, Berlin: Medialis. URL: ... https://www.bundesstiftung-baukultur.de/sites/default/files/medien/8349/downloads/bsbk_bkb_2021_0.pdf.
With regard to the current distribution of street space, it can be said that the accessibility and use of this supposedly public space must be viewed critically in several respects. For one, many public places are characterised by compulsory consumption. Not only that, a large part of the space is used exclusively as parking space for cars. Although walking is the most widespread form of mobility in large cities like Berlin (31%) and the number of journeys made by car is decreasing from year to year, more than half of the street space (58%) is currently available for motorised private transport (MIV) [3]SenUVK - Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz (2018a): Mobilität in Städten – System repräsentativer Verkehrsbefragungen (SrV) 2018 - Mobilitätsdaten für Berlin. URL: ... Continue reading [4]SenUVK - Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz (2013): Mobilität in Städten – System repräsentativer Verkehrsbefragungen (SrV) 2013 - Mobilitätsdaten für Berlin. URL: ... Continue reading [5]Strößenreuther, H. (2014): Wem gehört die Stadt? Der Flächen-Gerechtigkeits-Report. Mobilität und Flächengerechtigkeit. Eine Vermessung Berliner Straßen. Berlin: Agentur für clevere Städte. ... Continue reading. Parking space in particular is a highly underused area, as a car is not used for 23 hours a day on average, but takes up 12 square metres of public space [6]Nobis, C.; Kuhnimhof, T. (2018) Mobilität in Deutschland − MiD: Ergebnisbericht. Studie von infas, DLR, IVT und infas 360 im Auftrag des Bundesministers für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur. ... Continue reading [7]Hennig, Y. (2020): Bühne statt Parkplatz! In: VCD. Mobilität für Menschen. URL: https://www.vcd.org/artikel/buehne-statt-parkplatz [Published: 8.09.2020, Retrieved: 14.10.2020]. How can this mono-functionality of parking space be transformed into poly-functionality so that all city dwellers benefit from its use? Parklets transform parking space meeting place and can be an efficient urban planning measure to promote diversity of use in public street space.
The City of Vienna has recognised the potential of micro open spaces and has been promoting non-commercial parklets designed by citizens since 2015 as part of the Grätzloase action programme. Research on the quality of encounters in the Grätzloasen has shown that a variety of social activities with different intensities take place in parklets; for this reason, it is planned to increasingly incorporate microspaces the urban and transport landscape in order to promote neighbourly encounters at the local level [8]Grätzloase (o.J.): Grätzloase – Wir verwandeln den Freiraum! URL: https://www.graetzloase.at [Published: Not specified, Retrieved: 20.07.2020].
Social activities, such as chance conversations and neighbourly acquaintances, are triggered in parklets through both participation processes and the "triangulation" event. Triangulation is the emergence of interpersonal interactions triggered by an external stimulus in the public space. In this case, it is created by the space’s unusual location between parked cars as well as by varied design measures such as diverse plant species and interactive spatial objects [9]Whyte, W. H. (1980): The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Washington, DC: The Conservation Foundation.. Through the use and transformation of a parking lot by citizens, micro open spaces are given a creative individuality. The interest in this unusual and unknown form of public space leads to enquiries and encourages conversations between strangers - or "triangulation".
As the responsibility for the parklets in Vienna lies with the citizens, micro open spaces have the potential to promote social activities through various participatory processes. Due to the extensive greening of the Grätzloasen , caring for the plants takes a lot of time and is often collectively organised by neighbours. Furthermore, encounters occur through the joint design of the space. This means that different people come together when setting up and dismantling the parklets, and while they are there, small design measures are carried out by users, such as the active addition of new plants or small spatial objects. On top of that, encounters take place on a large scale during the organisation of and participation in events in the parklets. This participation in maintenance and design as well as in actions is crucial as it creates a completely different appreciation among the users. Parklets, as participatorily managed and designed outdoor spaces, can have a positive influence on neighbourhood networking and are particularly valuable when house communities do not have a communal courtyard or roof terrace.
From an urban planning perspective, it is not always necessary to undertake large-scale transformations to promote encounters in public space. Small-scale transformations can be implemented more quickly, involve lower financial costs and organisational effort, and can bring about significant changes in terms of life in the street space. In order for this to succeed and to create attractive meeting places, the following practical implications should be considered when installing parklets:
Organisation
- Participation should be at the forefront of planning, implementation and maintenance.
- The citizens are responsible for the conception, design and construction of the parklets. They are financially supported by the city, primarily for material costs.
- For seasonal projects, the city should provide storage space for the parklets in winter.
Location
- It is recommended that they be located in a residential area with few non-commercial meeting places. Especially streets with little greenery can be significantly improved by parklets.
- Instead of being adjacent to car parks from both sides, a location next to another alternative car park use makes sense.
- Sites adjacent to a tree with a landscaped tree pit can be particularly attractive, as this provides a natural source of shade and landscaped environments can have a positive impact on the psychological wellbeing of users.
- Locations next to a pavement ledge can be helpful as this space can optionally be used during events and increases the area of the parklet.
Design
- More separation from the street provides a greater sense of security while at the parklet.
- Interpersonal communication is promoted by intensive greening measures, such as the planting of edible herbs and flowers with a focus on biodiversity or the integration of interactive space elements (e.g. free libraries, bulletin boards, bike service stations, information signs about planting, a foosball table, a game box).
- In principle, vertically or diagonally oriented parking spaces offer more possibilities for arranging seating landscapes that promote communication.
- The spatial arrangement of the seating within the parklets has a significant influence on the quality of communication: Long benches that only allow a view of the building facade make communication more difficult. Corner benches or seats facing each other are "seating landscapes conducive to conversation" [10]Gehl, J. (2015): Städte für Menschen. Berlin: jovis..
Use
- The organisation of regular events in the parklet promotes use and associated social activities (e.g. reading meetings, game afternoons, language cafés, clothes and plant swaps, neighbourhood dinners, art workshops).
- If the initiators are social associations, this can promote the regular organisation of events in the parklet, as activities that previously took place indoors can be moved outdoors without much organisational effort.
Note
This blog post was written on the basis of the bachelor thesis “Umverteilung des öffentlichen Raumes auf Straßenraumebene: Das Potenzial von Parkplätzen als nicht-kommerzielle Aufenthaltsorte” “Redistribution of public space at street level: The potential of parking spaces as non-commercial places to stay” in geography at the Humboldt University in Berlin. The information is mainly derived from 12 interviews conducted with the association Lokale Agenda 21 and various parklet initiators in Vienna.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | BMUB – Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (2017): Weißbuch Stadtgrün. Grün in der Stadt – für eine lebenswerte Zukunft. URL: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/publikationen/themen/bauen/ wohnen/weissbuch-stadtgruen.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3 [Published: 04.2017, Retrieved: 12.10.2020] |
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| ↑2 | Nagel, R. (2020): Baukulturbericht. Öffentliche Räume. 2nd edition, Berlin: Medialis. URL: ... https://www.bundesstiftung-baukultur.de/sites/default/files/medien/8349/downloads/bsbk_bkb_2021_0.pdf |
| ↑3 | SenUVK - Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz (2018a): Mobilität in Städten – System repräsentativer Verkehrsbefragungen (SrV) 2018 - Mobilitätsdaten für Berlin. URL: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/verkehr/verkehrsdaten/zahlen-und-fakten/mobilitaetin-staedten-srv-2018 [Published: Not specified, Retrieved: 15.10.2020] |
| ↑4 | SenUVK - Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz (2013): Mobilität in Städten – System repräsentativer Verkehrsbefragungen (SrV) 2013 - Mobilitätsdaten für Berlin. URL: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/verkehr/verkehrsdaten/zahlen-und-fakten/mobilitaetin-staedten-srv-2013 [Published: Not specified, Retrieved: 15.10.2020] |
| ↑5 | Strößenreuther, H. (2014): Wem gehört die Stadt? Der Flächen-Gerechtigkeits-Report. Mobilität und Flächengerechtigkeit. Eine Vermessung Berliner Straßen. Berlin: Agentur für clevere Städte. URL: https://digital.zlb.de/viewer/metadata/15848079/1 |
| ↑6 | Nobis, C.; Kuhnimhof, T. (2018) Mobilität in Deutschland − MiD: Ergebnisbericht. Studie von infas, DLR, IVT und infas 360 im Auftrag des Bundesministers für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur. URL: https://elib.dlr.de/125879/1/MiD2017_Ergebnisbericht.pdf [Published: 02.2019, Retrieved: 2.12.2020] |
| ↑7 | Hennig, Y. (2020): Bühne statt Parkplatz! In: VCD. Mobilität für Menschen. URL: https://www.vcd.org/artikel/buehne-statt-parkplatz [Published: 8.09.2020, Retrieved: 14.10.2020] |
| ↑8 | Grätzloase (o.J.): Grätzloase – Wir verwandeln den Freiraum! URL: https://www.graetzloase.at [Published: Not specified, Retrieved: 20.07.2020] |
| ↑9 | Whyte, W. H. (1980): The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Washington, DC: The Conservation Foundation. |
| ↑10 | Gehl, J. (2015): Städte für Menschen. Berlin: jovis. |
