Blair Kamin: "Less Parking, More Parklets" -- GreenSource Magazine: Digital Wire

Blair Kamin: "Less Parking, More Parklets" What the heck is a "parklet"? Click to find out!

Does it make sense to turn on-street parking spaces into miniature urban parks and plazas where people can sit, eat, check their mobile phones, read a book, take a catnap or watch the world go by? Chicago is about to find out. With the blessing of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the city now has two of these miniparks, called "parklets" elsewhere and dubbed "people spots" by officials here. One, completed Tuesday and tucked amid Andersonville's ethnic restaurants and bakeries, offers blue benches made out of recycled milk jugs. The other, which city transportation commissioner Gabe Klein plans to dedicate Friday, beckons pedestrians in Lakeview with lime-green tables and chairs. Two more are expected to open next week on the South Side along 47th Street. Typically 6 feet deep and about two parking spaces wide, the parklets have been a hit in other cities, especially San Francisco, whi...

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