One of the many important and/or enjoyable sustainable transportation-related events that happened last weekend (more on that tomorrow) was last Saturday's PARK(ing) Day 2025, organized by the Chicago Growth Project. The event took place on the parking lots of Dovetail Brewery, Belle Plaine and Ravenswood avenues, and Demo Brewery, Berteau and Ravenswood avenues, a mere 0.2 miles away from each other. Dovetail is sandwiched between Metra's Union Pacific North Line and the CTA Brown Line.
The invite described PARK(ing) Day as "a citywide festival where we reclaim parking spaces and convert them into temporary public parks for a day!" (It also takes place in other cities around the world. "This event aims to spark conversations about our urban landscape and showcase the potential for a more livable, human-focused Chicago. Our goal is to connect, educate, and empower you to advocate for people-oriented city design."
The free Chicago event featured tables my many local sustainable transportation and housing advocacy groups; speeches by local politicians and candidates; live music; yoga; urbanist trivia; food vendors; and, of course, lots of craft beer. See the full list of organizations, speakers, and more at the bottom of this post.
Rep. Kam Buckner, who is one of the Springfield lawmakers currently leading the charge on passing a transportation reform and funding bill, gave a few remarks at the event. "It was less speech and really just impromptu comments," he told Streetsblog yesterday. "But I believe the point I centered on is, during the pandemic, we learned something we should never forget: space is not neutral. Space can’t be neutral. When six feet could mean life or death, we finally saw how precious—and political—space really is."
"We taped the floors of groceries," he added. "We measured the distance between strangers and loved ones. We turned parking spots into dining rooms, gyms, classrooms, sanctuaries. Streets became our living rooms. Sidewalks became our common spaces. Space became survival. But here’s the truth: it always has been. Who gets space…to breathe, to walk, to gather, to play, has always been the question of justice. And you can’t tell what a society values by what they chose to give space to."
Here's a gallery of some photos I took at both parking lots that day, with links to the organizations' websites.
Dovetail Brewing
Demo Brewing
For more details on what took place, here's some more of the text from the event invite:
Event Zones and Activities
Demo Brewing Company: Community Hub & Stage
The parking lot at Demo Brewing will be the event's main hub, featuring a stage with live music and inspiring speakers throughout the day.
Live Music and Yoga: Enjoy performances from local bands all afternoon and two live yoga sessions!
- 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM: Em Hall (Yoga)
- 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM: Some Years Later
- 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM: Ian McKinley
- 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM: Nova Squad
- 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Sun Roads
- 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM: Em Hall (Yoga)
- 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM: Urbanist Trivia with Chicago Growth Project
- 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM: Greystone
- 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM: Imperium
Guest Speakers: Hear from influential voices in our community who are passionate about sustainable urban development and public spaces. Speakers include:
1:45 Drake Warren(Candidate, Cook County Commissioner, District 10)
2:45 State Representative Kam Buckner (26th District)
3:45 Isaiah White (Candidate, Cook County Commissioner, District 12)
5:45 Alderman Matt Martin (47th Ward)
Dovetail Brewery: Urbanist Showcase & Interactive Fun
Across the way at Dovetail Brewery, immerse yourself in an interactive showcase of innovative urbanist ideas.
Advocacy Displays: Local urbanist groups will transform parking spaces into creative displays that bring their missions to life. This is your chance to connect with organizations driving positive change in Chicago, including:
- Chicago Growth Project
- Abundant Housing Illinois
- Strong Towns Chicago
- Congress for the New Urbanism
- Bike PAC
- Parking Reform Network.
Food & Drink
Enjoy delicious food from a variety of local vendors:
- Tacomatora
- Hey Beignets
- Irene’s Chicago
- Do-Rite Donuts
- Barry’s Sweets
Do you appreciate Streetsblog Chicago's paywall-free sustainable transportation reporting and advocacy? We officially ended our 2024-25 fund drive in July, but we still need another $43K+ to keep the (bike) lights on in 2026. We'd appreciate any leads on potential major donors or grants. And if you haven't already, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue publishing next year. Thank you!
