On the evening of Friday, September 18 The Valley’s iconic Robertson Street celebrated International PARK(ing) Day, courtesy of Place Design Group’s KURB Initiative – dedicated to ‘Keeping Urban Renewal Bold’.
Originating in Canada, International PARK(ing) Day is a worldwide phenomenon that asks people to re-think the everyday use of built up urban spaces such as a carpark, and turn them into something more for people to experience. Now, the concept has made its way to Australian shores, and KURB has joined the movement, rallying neighbours and local businesses to stage the very first ‘Robertson Street Does PARK(ing) Day’.
This year’s main attraction was a FREE, community ‘Urban Cinema’ screening a fitting documentary, ‘The Human Scale’ (PG). As the cars backed out, colourful deck chairs and green astro turf rolled in, for guests to sit back and enjoy the movie in a space that every other day, is dedicated to cars.
Additional private car parks on the street were transformed into a vibrant and energised spaces for people to enjoy, including a pop-up art gallery thanks to Life Art Galleries; free ping pong tournament at Jamie’s Espresso Bar; pop-up Mexican games lounge by FutureNet; food trucks and stalls including Donut Boyz at the Wickham Hotel, Char Baby and Flame ‘n’ Dough, as well as the KURB bar.
KURB initiative representative and Place Design Group General Manager, Beth Toon says, “KURB is all about disrupting the norm and we achieved this on Friday. Activating carparks not only encourages greater commercial opportunities but also allows community to engage with their urban spaces.
“It is this engagement that we were looking to capture during the event and I would like to give special thanks to our neighbours for their efforts and support to bringing Robertson Street to life including, Thompson Adsett, Click on Furniture, James St Initiative, Jamies Espresso Bar, Tyson Pepper, EuroLuce, and Ogilvy Brisbane.”
For more information, visit the KURB Initiative Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/kurbinitiative
