The City of Santa Monica is joining a class of cities across the United States and abroad that seek to increase public space by converting excess roadway space for cars into places for people. Parklets present an opportunity for creating public open space for residents at a significantly lower cost than parks. Further, the creation of parklets provides an opportunity for community groups, business owners and residents to get involved in enhancing their streetscape. Evaluating parklet pilot installations is one of the key elements to having a successful parklet program. Using multiple evaluative criteria, this project seeks to answer the following questions:
- Who is using the parklets? Are the parklet users and uses different in each site? In what ways?
- What effect do the parklets have on people’s perceptions of the street? Are these perceptions different from before the installation?
- Does parklet installation influence the volumes of people walking or cycling along the street?
- How can future parklets be improved based on the findings of this evaluation?
At the three sites along Main Street, UCLA will collect surveys, observe stationary activities and conduct counts of pedestrians and cyclists before and after the parklets are installed. After collecting the baseline and in-use data, we will use the data to extract useful lessons for future parklet development in Santa Monica.
Please visit the City of Santa Monica website to learn more about their parklet program.
Working on this project: Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Madeline Brozen
Project End Date: June 2018