Sidewalk scene in front of Pizzaiolo Restaurant, Oakland, California, September 18, 2009 around 7:15 pm.

Imagine my surprise Friday evening to emerge from a favorite dinner spot and discover a party on the sidewalk. But wait, there was something different about the street — beyond the sidewalk artist, busy with his pink chalk and boombox syncopation there was a full-blown game of Scrabble taking place on a real grass lawn, with lawn chairs and umbrella right where there used to be a parking spot on busy Telegraph Avenue!

Luckily, I didn’t have to worry I had eaten something funny in my eggplant, arugula and watermelon salad (other than eggplant, arugula and watermelon!) because New Village staffmember Terri Northcutt had just noted that morning it was International Park(ing) Day. What a treat to discover one of these artful oases happening right in the hip heart of my neighborhood!

Here’s what Terri told me: Started in 2005, by Rebar, a San Francisco art collective, PARK(ing) Day began as a single metered parking space converted into a temporary public park. The project was devised as an exploration of how public city spaces are used. Since it’s inception, PARK(ing) Day has become an annual, global event where artists, activists, and citizens independently transform metered parking spaces into creative and useful public parks. According to parkingday.org, “up to 70% of San Francisco’s downtown outdoor space is dedicated to the vehicle, while only a fraction of that space is allocated to the public realm.” These spaces, which appeared in many cities across the globe, all have their own unique design and creative expression. “Paying the meter of a parking space enables one to lease precious urban real estate on a short-term basis. What is the range of possible activities for this short-term lease?” One of those possibilities was featured on NPR