PubliCity is an initiative that aims to involve the community to celebrate good public spaces and to enliven public spaces through good design and programmes. Public spaces are important components of our living environment. The creation and development of well-designed public spaces provide areas for people to gather for social activities and serve as leisure and recreational spaces. As part of urban planning and design, public spaces are carefully planned and distributed across the island. PubliCity strives to create both new public spaces as well as rejuvenate existing ones.
Do not be surprised to see a piano performance along the street today as 140 parking lots across Singapore turn into creative public spaces for all to enjoy.
This transformation is part of the international PARK(ing) Day movement, where people get the opportunity to influence the built environment by transforming parking lots into public spaces, also known as ‘PARKS’ for the day.
The ‘PARK’ activities range from street magic performances to a freestyle football demonstration. The 70 ‘PARKS’ are located in areas such as Bras Basah.Bugis, Central Business District, Jalan Besar, Kampong Glam and Tiong Bahru. Refer to Annex A [PDF, 201kb] for the list of ‘PARKS’ and their locations.
This is the third year PARK(ing) Day is held in Singapore. This year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is doing more to enliven our public spaces by launching PLAY at jalan besar – a series of life-sized games and fun installations placed at different spots in the Jalan Besar area.
The public can try their hand at ping pong, hoops, a giant-sized chess game and even a back lane maze. PLAY at jalan besar aims to activate various public spaces in the area to allow residents and visitors to enjoy the neighbourhood in a delightful way. The games will be at Jalan Besar from 18 September to 30 October 2015. Refer to Annex B [PDF, 183kb] for details about the games and their locations.
Ng Lang, Chief Executive Officer of URA, said, “It’s heartening to see the huge spontaneous participation at PARK(ing) Day this year. The energy at this event was inspiring last year, and we do not expect any less this year. It is testimony that our people love our city, and want to contribute in responsible and creative ways to enliven our streets and public spaces.”
PARK(ing) Day and PLAY at jalan besar are initiatives under the PubliCity programme that aims to involve the community in celebrating and enlivening public spaces through good design and programmes. Other recent PubliCity initiatives include Streets for People and KamPONG.
Members of the public can log on to http://bit.ly/PARKlocations2015 to find out more about the PARKs and their locations.
They can support PARK(ing) Day by sharing their photographs and videos at the PARK(ing) Day Facebook page http://bit.ly/parkingdaysgfb. We encourage them to use the hashtags #PubliCitySG and #PARKingDaySG when they upload content on Facebook and Instagram.
#PubliCitySG
#PARKingDaySG