“what would you do in 5 x 2.5 sqm… if there was no car?” by Blanca Calvo and Io Makandal is an temporary intervention that materialised on Pritchard street in Banking City, Johannesburg. The intervention considered the debates around how public open spaces are currently used in the inner city and how it could possibly be used in alternative recreational ways.
The different possible uses of a parking bay space were drawn on the road with coloured tape and chalk to show visitors and passers-by several examples of the alternatives. With this, the intervention attempts to illustrate public spaces within the city that reflect a better living environment; more spaces to serve a broader range of public needs and less space dedicated to the storage of cars.
We did the intervention and took part in the Park(ing) Day initiative to engage with the issues around public space within Johannesburg and the discourse around the rights to the city. With our intervention we hope to bring awareness to such discussions, and moreover to engage the public to become aware of their city environment and their rights to its spaces.
