by Charlie Quimby for his blog Across the Great Divide.

This post was written in response to an anonymous comment (aren’t those always the best kind?) left on Paul Schmelzer’s recent article about PARK(ing) Day for the Minnesota Independent. To quote Mr. Quimby:

Where Mr. Anonymous detects self-righteousness and self-absorption, I found a friendly invitation to sit and talk with strangers — not what would anyone expect to encounter at a street parking space, in a ramp, or glaring through the tinted power window of an Escalade.

The “wonder” being injected was not that urban spaces could use more greenery and hipsters — or even to show how easily a small piece of asphalt could be transformed to a community space. It was to make us question why we tolerate the barren monoclines created because of our autodependence.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

By Amanda Kushner for the Downtown Journal.

“Participant Jacob Wascalus called the event “an exercise in public awareness. I really like the idea of transforming a public space into something that is more useful for a lot of people rather than a single car,” said the urban planning graduate student. He questioned the purpose of the publicly owned space and emphasized that it would be awesome to have spots around the city converted to public parks.”

By Luke Feuerherm & Thomas Q. Johnson for The Minnesota Daily.

“On Friday afternoon, under a bright fall sun, a group of University of Minnesota students sat on a soft bed of grass, enjoying a game of cribbage and a nice cold drink at a local park. The next day their grass went back to asphalt and their park will become again a place for cars.”

by Richard Chin for the Pioneer Press.

That’s where 32-year-old Minneapolis artist Molly Balcom laid down a 4-by-6-foot patch of green with scrap pieces of sod. With a picnic basket, cups, napkins, seats, a blanket and pots of edible plants including basil, fennel greens, lamb’s quarters and kale, she invited the “urban herd” to nibble at her “grazing lawn.”

We’re bummed we didn’t make it to St. Paul to see Molly’s spot or the one the Mayor’s office put outside of City Hall. Hopefully we’ll get a hold of some pictures soon

So, what did you think? Let us know how we can make PARK(ing) Day 2010 more awesome and if you’d like to help us do it!