September, 2021

PARK(ing) Day is an annual, global event, where single parking spaces are temporarily transformed into public parks and pedestrian spaces. Typically, the parking spaces selected for this pop-up installation are located downtown or urban centers where parking is a bit more sought-after. This year, we changed this up a bit…

The Battlefield Mall is a perfect example of the urban sprawl and auto-centric orientation Springfield, Missouri—and many other cities across the midwest—have experienced. However, unlike many shopping malls across the country, the Battlefield Mall has continued to flourish, despite urban renewal trends and re-investment in downtowns. Yet, despite their success, acres of parking lay vacant throughout the year. So, we thought, “what a better way to bring attention to the imbalance of space dedicated to cars vs. pedestrians than to show how even a successful shopping mall still has WAY too much parking.”