In hundreds of cities, parking spaces become parks

Activists across the nation parked themselves curbside Friday, taking up spaces reserved for cars and transforming them into mini parks with sod, potted plants, lawn chairs and even barbecues to raise awareness about how the auto has won the battle over public space in big cities. On a busy street in Los Angeles, a neighborhood association took up seven parking spots and set up a hangout with a grill, a kiddie pool and a gardening workshop to teach people how to grow drought-tolerant plants. In Chicago, an architecture firm turned two parking spaces into a pit stop where bicyclists can chill out on a grassy knoll and refuel on drinks and snacks. In New York City, theater students from Fordham University staged a "Shakespeare in the Parking Spot" festival. The setting was one of the pocket parks created for "Park(ing) Day." The movement started as a single installation four years ago in San Francisco and has become a worldwide event reaching more than 100 cities on four continents...AP