CAPLA Students take on Park(ing) Day 2025

CAPLA students shared their creativity and design thinking with the community by participating in global Park(ing) Day on Sept. 19 at Main Gate Square. 

Park(ing) Day reimagines parking spaces as people-centered public places, encouraging communities to explore new possibilities for urban streets. This year, CAPLA students led the way with an installation built around the theme “Curb the Power: Micro Acts of Civil Joy.”

“Our goal is to reimagine a parking space as a people-centered public space, using colorful ground painting, desert-adapted plantings and flexible seating to create a playful, shaded and welcoming atmosphere,” said Esmeralda Carrasco, a Master of Landscape Architecture student. “The installation is designed to be approachable and replicable—showing how tactical, small-scale interventions can spark conversations about safety, climate and community.”

Carrasco, who serves on the Park(ing) Day planning committee and leads CAPLA’s student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), was at the center of planning efforts. 

She collaborated with partners including the City of Tucson Transportation & Mobility, UA Parking & Transportation Services and WHEAT Design Group to shape the event’s messaging and design. She also organized volunteer shifts, coordinated materials, led the student design/build effort and brought in other CAPLA student organizations to add their energy to the installation.

For Carrasco, the project was about more than just one day—it was about sparking ideas for the future of Tucson’s streets.

“I hope visitors walk away with a new perspective on how even a single parking space can be transformed into a joyful and functional gathering spot,” she said. “More broadly, we want people to see how design can make streets safer, greener and more equitable.”

Park(ing) Day also highlights the role of landscape architects in shaping healthier, more livable communities. 

“It’s an opportunity for ASLA to showcase what landscape architects do, to connect with other disciplines across CAPLA and to spark dialogue about creating more livable urban spaces,” Carrasco said.