Parklets are here!
The City's first public parklets have arrived!  Parklets transform parking spaces into vibrant community spaces, filled with seating, art, and greenery (learn more).
In 2021, the City installed two public parklets as part of a pilot program.  The first parklet, on Washington Street between Main and Sumter,  was made possible by a grant from the AARP Community Challenge Program, and features the artwork of Frankie Zombie.  Installed in May of 2021, this vibrant parklet includes cafe table seating and is adjacent to the entrance of the historic Arcade Building.  Southern Vistas provided the plants for this parklet.
Photograph of a woman taking a group selfie in the Parklet on Washington. She stands, smiling, in the lower righthand corner, as two women and two men sit in brightly colored chairs and at a bright green table, also located within the parklet, and smiling at the camera.
Parklet on Washington
The second parklet, on Hampton Street between Main and Sumter, was made possible by a grant from the Knight Foundation, and features artwork by local artist Cait Maloney.  Additional support for both parklets has been provided by One Columbia and City Center Partnership.

Celebrate PARK(ing) Day each September!
What is PARK(ing) Day?
PARK(ing) Day is an annual open-source global event where citizens, artists, an activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into PARK(ing) spaces - temporary public spaces.  Always scheduled for the third Friday in September, the City of Columbia has been host to PARK(ing) Day celebrations since 2015.  Each year, artists, architects, advocates for public space, and more come together to design and build temporary parklet installations in parking spaces throughout the urban core, inspiring and challenging Columbians to reframe how we think about public space.  

PARK(ing) Day 2022
PARK(ing) Day was Friday, September 16, 2022, and we had a blast with 17 installations throughout the Main Street District!  If you meant to host a parklet this year and just couldn't quite swing it, save the date for next year's event - it will be on Friday, September 15th, 2023.  Applications are generally due in early-mid August, so you have plenty of time to plan!

It's also a design contest!
PARK(ing) Day 2022 included our second annual design contest, with two awards up for grabs: a juried Best Design Award, and a People's Choice Award with voting day-of!  We had some amazing designs this year! 
Press Release Regarding Awards (PDF)
Photograph of three individuals seated and one individual standing in the parking spaces. A jenga game sits on a side table, and the parking spaces are surrounded by a wood frame with colorful squares strung on lines.
The BOUDREAUX installation won the juried 2022 Best Design Award
A woman throws a cornhole bag at a lego-shaped cornhole board, while another woman bends to pick up a bag. the space is barricaded from the street with large scale red lego bricks.
In a repeat performance (with a new design), the LS3P Associates installation won the 2022 People's Choice Award
photograph of two couples shag dancing on a dance floor placed in parking spaces along main street.
Capital City Shag Club received an honorable mention under juried Best Design.

Need some inspiration?
Check out some photos of PARK(ing) Day installations from past celebrations in Columbia below.  If you're on social media, you can look for #parkingday and #ASLAparkingday to see what other communities have done, too!

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​Columbia Compass is the update to the City of Columbia, South Carolina’s Comprehensive Plan.  To learn more about the City’s other planning efforts, please visit the City's website.
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