Springfield Parlor Park

Waiting for the bus at 6th and Main just got a little comfier, cleaner. Someone built a bench from cinder blocks and a 2×6 and put it at the corner of 6th and Main. They did a pretty nice job too. The bench was pretty level and the cinder blocks were actually submerged in the dirt about 3 inches. Whoever put the bench there didn’t just plop down some rocks and wood, they gave some thought to it.

They also put a garbage can next to the DIY bus stop. Not sure how long the garbage can will be around if it isn’t bolted to the ground, but it’s a great sentiment. This reminds me of an article in last month’s Good Magazine about parlor parks in LA. The article is pretty short so I’ll post it here:

Rather than fence off the trash-strewn lot beside its building—a stomping ground for drug-users and prostitutes—one downtown Los Angeles community center added, instead, a few benches and flowers. Soon, neighbors began to hang out there, and the less desirable denizens vanished.

BeforeAfter

By beautifying the lot, the center transformed its use, and herein lies the vision of the Community Living Room project, run by the Los Angeles-based nonprofit group Verde Coalition: turn grim scraps of public land—like bus stops, traffic medians, or dangerous street corners—into welcoming public spaces.

In Los Angeles, where many low-income communities enjoy almost no park space, a new “living room” cheaply and quickly creates a mini-sanctuary from the fast-paced and sometimes ugly reality of the city. Twelve community “living rooms” have been constructed so far, and the mayor’s office may soon help fund 1,000 more across the city, making Los Angeles more habitable—two benches at a time.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 6:18 am and is filed under Activism, Springfield. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.