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Park your tent

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We’ve previously written about Park(ing), a fun project out of Los Angeles San Francisco that reclaims parking spots by placing sods of grass and a park bench where cars usually rest.

I recently found a different approach to road reclamation: pitching a tent. This car-shaped tent allows anyone with pockets that can hold a lot of loose change to camp out on a main street whenever suitable (I believe it’s not manufactured — just a DIY project). I’d love to see the reaction of parking enforcement officials if they ever stumbled across this scene.

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8 comments

  1. Matt:

    The Rebar Park(ing) installation was started in San Francisco, not Los Angeles. Last summer, several groups and design firms joined in for a second larger Park(ing)demonstration, including the Mayor’s parking space at City Hall. My office was one of the participants. It really turned out great, with people who we never met in our neighbourhood coming out to spend some time on the sod and benches next to thru-traffic. Spontaneous at first, it beame a local sensation then with efforts taking place all over NA and Europe.

  2. Thats still a small car/tent. An SUV version could sleep an extended family.

  3. This would be a cool thing to organize all along Bloor St to put pressure on the city to build the Bloor-Danforth bike lane.

  5. Hmm. Not sure how wise of an idea it would be to lie down on Bloor in what appears to be a car, but is in fact a highly destructible tent.

  6. this project is done by designer/artist Michael Rakowitz. It is called p(lot)

    from his site…

    “(P) LOT questions the occupation and dedication of public space and encourages reconsiderations of “legitimate” participation in city life. Contrary to the common procedure of using municipal parking spaces as storage surfaces for vehicles, P (LOT) proposes the rental of these parcels of land for alternative purposes. The acquisition of municipal permits and simple payment of parking meters could enable citizens to, for example, establish temporary encampments or use the leased ground for different kinds of activities. A first initiative for this re-dedication is realized through the conversion of ordinary car covers into portable tents, avialiable for loan at the MUMOK. Visitors to the museum and interested citizens who wish to participate in the development of this proposed culture will have the choice to use one of five covers ranging from a common sedan to a luxurious Porsche or motorcycle, thereby enabling a broadcast of disre within the marginalized space of need.”

    http://www.michaelrakowitz.com/

  7. This looks like a great idea! I don’t think the risk of motorists crashing into stationary objects is very great, so I think this has a lot of potential in Toronto.