Recently Park(ing) Day NYC had the opportunity to connect with Park(ing) Day organizers from other cities. The following interview was conducted with Yen Trinh, who in 2008 and 2009 helped organize Park(ing) Day in Brisbane, Austraila. We are also fortunate that this year she’ll be able to enjoy Park(ing) Day in New York City since she recently moved here to work with such groups as Architecture for Humanity and Do Tank: Brooklyn. Do Tank: Brooklyn will be hosting a Park(ing) Spot this year and we can’t wait to see what they create!

PDNYC: How has Park(ing) Day changed your view of what public space is and can be in your community?
YT: My background is in urban design and I’ve always advocated public space.  Park(ing) Day in particular has really strengthened my belief in community action, leadership, and the importance of collaboration.

Pictured Right: Yen @ Brisbane Park(ing) Day!

PDNYC: Has Park(ing) Day inspired other street reclamation or public space projects in Brisbane?

YT: It’s hard to say if it is tangibly linked.  There are existing festivals and I think generally there is an emerging creative dialogue, and City support for programming and activating public spaces.  As organizers of the event, we are certainly keen to move strategically towards more permanent public spaces that have a longer-term impact.  For example, there is an office who has discussed converting their streetside parking into a park, due to the fun and success they had with just one Park(ing) Day, and the Brisbane Park(ing) Day organizers  would really like to help them on that.

PDNYC: What do you enjoy most about Park(ing) Day?
YT: The creativity is astounding! Every year I’m amazed by what happens locally and internationally. It’s a quiet friendly competition of the biggest cities and most creative spaces.  The sense of community and collaborative action gives me hope.  Hope that in any area of city design, and the world in general, a lot of small changes and actions can add up to create massive change.

PDNYC: Do you have any stories or memorable events from Park(ing) Day 2009?
YT: Brisbane City Council does not officially support the day, but I did hear a funny story of a parking inspector giving a truck a ticket and turning a blind eye to some students park(ed) right next to it.

PDNYC: What advice can you give to people who want to start a Park(ing) Day in their community?

YT: 1) Take advantage of the Rebar Park(ing) Day website.  In the past, Brisbane Park(ing) Day, created our own mapping, emails and websites but Rebar now has those resources available on their Park(ing) Day site.

2) Get creative with who you reach out to and get involved. To me the day captures many more interests than just greenspace it’s about the bigger ideas of sustainable cities.

3) Support people to have fun and be playful.  Cities are harsh places sometimes, we could all do with something that makes us smile.