Park(ing)
Day 2026

One day, eleven spaces

Park(ing) Day started in San Francisco in 2005, when a design studio fed a parking meter, rolled out sod, set down a bench and a tree, and let people sit in the space for two hours. It now happens every year on the third Friday of September in cities around the world.

The idea is simple. Rent the space the way anyone else would, put something in it that people can use, and clear out by the end of the day.

In Phoenix this year, eleven organizations have taken eleven spaces along the east curb of 3rd Street. Each space is about eight feet by twenty. What goes inside is up to the group that built it: shade, seating, plants, art, a dog run, a place to sit down and talk.

Downtown Phoenix has plenty of room at the curb and not many places to sit in the shade. Park(ing) Day is a low-cost way to see what the same twenty feet can do, and to ask who gets to use the street.

What you'll find

• Shade and seating along the whole block
• Coffee and matcha from Maleta Café's pedal-powered coffee cart
• A pop-up dog run at the south end for friendly, leashed dogs
• Plants, art and games in the spaces
• Neighbors, planners and advocates to talk with

Good to know

Mornings are quiet and the block fills up around 11:30. It is September in Phoenix, so bring water and a hat. The dog run is for friendly, leashed dogs only. Stay with your dog the whole time; dogs cannot be left unattended in the run or in any space.

Start anywhere

The spaces run in two stretches with a loading zone in the middle, so the block reads as one walk from end to end. Check-in is at the Valley Urban Action Alliance and Urban Phoenix Project space in the south stretch, next to the dog run.

Spaces are set by permit and may shift on the day.