PARK(ing) Day Reflection Nicholas Gilman

The parking day is celebrated globally as a one-day event that highlights city streets as public space.
Those participating design a parking space to demonstrate how it could provide a greater service to
the public. The Theme for this years PARK(ing) Day is Housing as a Public Right.

According to the Civic Design Center website, “Lack of housing affordability and homelessness are
Nashville’s biggest life-threating issues right now. 194 homeless Nashvillians died in 2021 – the
highest ever recorded in the city.”
PARK(ing) Day pavilions were design to better engage the community in addressing this issue.
Below are some of the observations I made while touring and engaging with the designers of various
installations.

Some of the installations were designed as informative centers to educate the public on the issues
currently surrounding public housing access here in Nashville. I found this installation engaging,
though perhaps a bit intimidating in its attempt to draw pedestrians into its space. The form was
simple and easily identifiable in portrayal of “Housing” reflecting the skeleton of a traditional gabled
home. The repetition of the form also conveyed the message of “public housing” of all.
Other installations focused on the ways to cultivate a sense of community within Public Housing. This
installation, with its picketed white fence, string lights, and lattice mailbox structure was focused on
building a welcoming space that would foster a sense of community and belonging as the tenants of the
public housing structure associated with this “mail room” could chat about there day in an environment
evoking the imagery of the “American Dream.”
This pavilion created a space from recycled
materials that was to encourage the public
discussion around the issues of public housing in
Nashville. While I appreciate what this installation
was doing, I generally found the installations that
relied on a writing description to explain its
function less engaging and a bit artificial in its
attempt to involve the public in creating a sense
of community.
I greatly enjoyed the installation the Hastings group created. They intention, in order to foster a sense of
community, was to first create joy. By using the teeter-totter as the mechanism for joy, they were also
naturally creating social connections with the public. Without two people, this installation is all teeter,
no totter.
I really enjoyed this installation as it addressed
that issue that many public housing
developments suffer from, which is the lack of
nature or garden space. The pavilion served as
public garden that was inviting and allowed
guest to plant a flower to leave within the
space. This activity allowed the public to
literally make that public space more beautiful
for those who followed. Additionally, the
installation was going to be installed as a
public garden in a housing development after
PARK(ing) Day.
I unfortunately did not get any photos of the Belmont installation, but perhaps this is a good thing. I
think it was my interaction with the pavilion that made me forget to take photos. Similar to how the last
pavilion was allowing its guests to build a more beautiful space, the Belmont pavilion allowed guests to
build a more social environment. The activity of constructing your own chair was a catalyst for
socialization and communication within the space.

I found PARK(ing) Day to be a rewarding experience and I hope Belmont continues to be involved with
this event in the future.