Singapore’s Streets Come Alive for PARK(ing) Day 2017

Source: Twu Shih Min

Student PARKs at Bugis and Kampong Glam

Public PARKs at Bugis, Kampong Glam and Little India

URA Showcase PARK – Flower Origami Workshop; flower-bombed PARK(ing) Day logo panel; and Pinteractive, a board where participants make shapes with moving pins

URA PARKs along Kandahar Street

URA PARKs along Dickson Road

CLC’s PARK saw participants fashion bicycles from buttons and wire, children learn to activate streets through a board game designed by Participate in Design, and pledges to go car-lite.

CLC’s PARK saw participants fashion bicycles from buttons and wire, children learn to activate streets through a board game designed by Participate in Design, and pledges to go car-lite.

Selected streets across Singapore’s Central Area came alive with workshops, arts and games as Singapore’s placemaking community transformed some 166 car park lots into 85 temporary PARKs as part of this year’s PARK(ing) Day.

This marked the most comprehensive edition of this event in Singapore since the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) first embraced the international movement in 2013 under its ‘Our Favourite Place’ programme. On 16 September 2017, students, interest groups and individuals took over parking lots on narrow streets in areas such as Bugis, Kampong Glam, Little India and Tiong Bahru to give the public a glimpse what these could be like without cars.

Prior to the event, partner-organiser Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) ran workshops on space activation for students and interested members of the public. Participants built prototypes for their PARK(ing) Day projects, of which 45 were showcased on the actual day. These came from eight schools, including LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Girls’ High School, Pioneer Junior College, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, SUTD, St Joseph’s Institution and Temasek Polytechnic.

To promote a car-lite Singapore, PARK(ing) Day 2017 implemented full street closure at Liang Seah Street and partial street closure at Sultan Gate for the first time. Bike sharing companies Obike, Mobike, oFo and SG Bike joined in the efforts by providing free bicycle rentals on the day.

The Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) and URA joined in the fun by testing out various place-making PARK ideas too. CLC’s park at Baghdad Street featured car-lite themed craft activities and games, while URA’s booths along Kandahar Street, Dickson Road and Liang Seah Street, with their showcase PARK featuring a flower origami workshop and a flower-bombed display.

Not only was PARK(ing) Day well-received by the public in Singapore, it also caught the attention of local media both mainstream and online. According to various reports by the city’s leading newspapers, The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao and Channel NewsAsia, participants enjoyed the event and welcomed the street closures as it made the roads safer for them to explore the various PARKS. This is one step forward for PARK(ing) day, and another towards turning Singapore into a car-lite nation.

About the Writer

Lee Li Fang

Li Fang is a researcher at the Centre for Liveable Cities who focuses on participatory design and local planning. She graduated with a Bachelor degree in Real Estate with a specialisation in Urban Planning.