The Power of Parklets

Funny....sometimes when you run across something for the first time, the next thing you know is that you are seeing it everywhere. 

This is what happened to me regarding parklets.

A parklet is a little do-it-yorself mini park, which urban areas and city dwellers are creating more and more of to counter green up the space, cutting down on the concrete jungles of urban areas. They help soothe both our physical and mental health by providing these pockets of green.

I ran across parklets in the the OneTreePlanted article by Gabrielle Clawson entitled Good News! 30 Positive Environmental Stories From 2023, which I used for the creation of my March 6th blog post "Postivtive Environmental Stories for 2023." Parklets was listed as Clawson's #12 item. 

Parklets reminded me of downtown Annapolis during the pandemic. Restaurants took away parking places on the street to bring out planter boxes and more tables so that people could have the restaurant experience while dining outside. String some lights, make it cozy, bring in the greenery, and voila--goregous outdoor seating, with friends and family, for safer, accessible, open air dining during Covid times.

Next thing I know, parklets and their nature and health benefits are everywhere!

Parklets started their modest beginning in 2005 in San Francisco, and since then have begun popping up in many different ways. They bring about greater connections and a sense of community. They widen and invite greater outdoor living. It all is part of what makes a community "livable."

Looking for all the benefits parklets provide: Check out any of these articles: 

• Happy Eco New's Parklets: A Small Way to Make Big Cities More Livable
• Guardian's More Flowers, Fewer Cars: The Rewilders Turning Parking Spaces Into Parks
• Georgetown University's Creating Community and a Sense of Place, One ‘Parklet’ at a Time
• Washington DC's Department of Transportation Parklet's Program Guide
• National Association of City Transportation Officials' Urban Street Design Guide

In the market to make your own? Check out Happy Eco New's How to Build a Parklet DIY.

With spring having sprung, makes me want to go out and find a li'l parakeet of my own to go and just soak in the sun, maybe a snack, and enjoy a little people watching along the way!

Images from https://scs.georgetown.edu/news-and-events/article/7858/creating-community-sense-of-place-parklet and https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/1/19/baltimore-wants-permanent-parklets and  https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/covington-parklets/ and https://www.capitalgazette.com/2019/09/01/parklets-in-west-annapolis/