noPARK moss

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NoPark returns “no parking zones”—mostly those associated f ire hydrant placement--to low growth mosses and grasses. These micro
engineered green spaces prevent storm water run off, use foliage to stabilize the soil, and to provide a durable low maintenance surface
cover. These microparks continue to provide emergency parking space for f ire trucks and exasperated Fresh-direct delivery persons.
But the other 99.9% of the time they now do something more. For all the same rationales that apply to green roofs, greening the nostanding
zones is a good thing. Practically, noPARKS capture more water than green roofs (not being limited to carrying capacity of the
2”, 4” or 6” of soil that roofs require). These no parking/standing zones are often situated where water collects, capturing the oily runoff
from the road before it runs into the river. noPARKs recharge and replenish soil moisture on the block important to trees—even yards
away--to help them dilute the gallons of uric acid poured on city trees plots each day by friendly neighborhood dogs. Less water puddling
decreases pedestrian slipping hazards. Lastly, the noPark reduces the number of standing water pools that are left for days, which are
the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. In this way, the noPark may reduce the need for widespread fumigation to combat West Nile
virus in New York City. noPARK is prescribed by the xCLINIC.
Although air quality is a classic “commons,” the burden of pollution is not fairly distributed. One axis of unequal distribution of risk is
age. I call this the “stroller height” issue. Due to the typical position of exhaust pipes on cars and trucks and the higher density of
many of the most dangerous molecules in the air, the quality of air is measurably worse the lower you are. If you wanted to maximize
your pollutant dose while walking down the street, you would sit right at the height that children are at when they are sitting in strollers.
This is doubly (or triply?) bad because children are most susceptible to the negative effects of poor air quality. They consume more
air per pound of body size; further, pollutants effect developing systems more than those already developed, and children accumulate
many substances for longer periods of their lives and experience longer ongoing effects than adults face. Even dogs and short people
also get proportionately higher doses, exacerbated by smaller body masses. I may sound like an urban planner forced to show the
value of something in terms of dollars saved and ills cured, expresses in the cost/benefi t ratios of public discourse. Public art has a
different purpose, however, although this does not preclude practical applications. Primarily NoParks are intended to enter the public
consciousness, sow possibility and reap imaginative results as of yet unknown.