Now here's an idea...

On September 18th, hundreds of New Yorkers will temporarily convert on-street parking spaces into parks, plazas and dynamic destinations as part of the third annual Park(ing) Day NYC. In advance of this year's event, Transportation Alternatives is launching a new POP.Park competition challenging New Yorkers to design a portable and affordable pre-fabricated "park in a box." These POP.Parks will be public spaces produced from readily available materials that will emerge from a cardboard box and provide a delineated car-free space, seating and/or activities that can take place in a parking space. POP.Parkcompetition finalists will be invited to construct their prototype on Park(ing) Day 2009 and entries will be judged by text message voting. The winning POP.Park prototype willbe fabricated and sold on the T.A. website for parking space conversions all year round. Submissions are due by September 1st.The competition's rules are simple:

• POP.Parks must fold into a box, reusable bag or tote that one person can carry while walking or riding public transportation.
• Buidling materials that have little impact on the environment are encouraged.
• When assembled, POP.Parks should be no larger than 8'x15' - the size of a parking spot.
• Materials can be found or purchased, but must not exceed $20 in cost.

"While the City is reclaiming acres of asphalt on Broadway, we're calling on New Yorkers to look out their front doors to their own streets," says Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. "And just like the lawn chairs in Times Square, POP.Park will show that even on a shoestring budget, we can turn parking space into public space." Park(ing) Day NYC is sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and the Open Planning Project in conjunction with businesses, architectural firms and civic groups from all five boroughs. Streets and sidewalks comprise 80% of New York City's public space. More than 50 parking spaces will be reclaimed for this year's Park(ing) Day NYC. The international event began in San Francisco in 2006, and has since expanded to dozens of cities across the country. Full details about Park(ing) Day NYC, including a map of all spaces and activities, are available at parkingdaynyc.org.