Looking Back at Five Years of Parklets

On this date in 2011, University City District installed Philadelphia's first parklets. Five years later, tens of thousands of people have enjoyed these public spaces. UCD's parklets are small, temporary parks that replace a few parking spots with a public space open for the entire community to enjoy.

In the spring of 2015, UCD published a report measuring the impact of parklets on neighboring businesses--this report and presentations on the topic have provided organizations from Columbus, California, and even Nigeria with the building blocks to begin work on their own parklets.

This spring, UCD Director of Planning and Design Nate Hommel gave a presentation about tactical urbanism in University City at the 2016 American Planning Association National Conference in Phoenix Arizona which featured discussion of our work with developing parklets. 

See our six Parklets: 

• 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar)
• 261 S. 44th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop)
• 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe)
• 801 S. 47th St. (hosted by Fu-Wah Market)
• 4903 Catharine St (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream and Hibiscus Cafe)
• 125 S. 40th Street (hosted by Hai St. Kitchen, Jake's Sandwich Board, and Zesto Pizza)