The Journal of Public Space

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The modern parklet was created in San Francisco in 2009, building upon a long legacy of temporary occupation of roadway space to create tiny public spaces. Initially conceived of as a temporary expansion of the sidewalk into the vehicular right of way, parklets have evolved into their own unique space typology. The City of San Francisco Parklet Program has been imitated and adopted globally and parklet-like spaces grew steadily in cities around the world from 2009 to 2019. 2020 witnessed a radical expansion of non-conventional use of the roadway as many communities sought to use outdoor public space in the streets as gathering places and for commercial outdoor dining and retail. While recent years have witnessed a contraction of these pandemic-era uses of streets, many communities are continuing to grapple with some fundamental questions about these spaces; such as: Are they public or private? How to balance commercial and community uses of the curb lane? Who administers these programs and how do municipalities manage a fee structure for public and commercial uses of the public right of way? How do cities balance this explosion of user generated uses of the public right of way while maintaining standards of accessibility, public safety, and design quality in the public realm?

 

We invite writings, reflections, research, case studies and photo essays related to parklets, temporary uses and co-creation of public space on a global scale. We invite scholars, designers, planners, urban practitioners, artists and community organisations to make critical and innovative contributions to the understanding of meanings and practices in plural and diverse contexts and climates. We welcome critical perspectives on challenges in policy-making, overbearing bureaucracies, reduced resources for implementation and lack of institutional support in improving conditions of everyday public space.

This issue will collect both full research articles (max 8.000 words), and shorter essays, case studies and photo essays (max 3.000 words).

The best abstract proposals will be selected to be presented at the International Parklet Symposium that will take place in Bologna on 19-20 September 2024, promoted by Museo Spazio Pubblico and co-organized by John Bela (Bela Urbanism), Luisa Bravo (City Space Architecture) and Ryan Smolar (PlacemakingUS).

 

IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 25 July2024
Notification of acceptance sent to authors: 20 August 2024
Deadline for full paper submission: 2 December 2024
Notification of comments from peer-reviewers: July 2025
Publication (expected): December 2025

Submissions of abstracts are accepted ONLY through Oxford Abstract at this link.

Only authors who will receive a notification of acceptance of abstracts will be entitled to submit full papers.

 

AUTHOR'S GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF FULL PAPERS

• Research articles (academic): full papers between 5.000 and 8.000 words, the word limit includes notes and bibliographical references. The submission must include also an abstract of max 300 words, up to five keywords, and up to 20 copyright free images with captions.
• Case studies and essays (non-academic): full papers of max 3.000 words, the word limit includes notes and bibliographical references. The submission must include also an abstract of max 300 words, up to five keywords, and up to 20 copyright free images with captions.

Read the guidelines.

 

For any questions related to the peer review process, please write to:
Dr Luisa Bravo
Editor in Chief  | The Journal of Public Space
luisa.bravo@journalpublicspace.org