Dialogues for long-term change
A parklet repurposes part of a street into a public space for people. It can include seating, planting, bike parking, or art. It is open and accessible to all. For RISE City Lab Munich, Gehl supported the FreiRaum-Viertel initiative in piloting and refining the concept for temporary parklets in Munich’s Südliche Bahnhofsviertel neighborhood and how they can serve as platforms to spark dialogues for long-term change.
The parklets transformed parking spaces into areas for recreation, culture, and social interaction. Throughout the intervention, they acted as catalysts for discussions on the redistribution of public spaces — demonstrating the potential for transforming urban environments to better meet community needs. To support the process, Gehl conducted a mini-Public Space Public Life Survey together with the FreiRaum-Viertel team, and documented how the parklets supported new life in and around their locations. The insights gained from the FreiRaum-Viertel project underscored the need for cleaner air, spaces to hang out, and areas for people to simply ‘be’.
The initial pilot phase successfully highlighted the benefits of small-scale urban interventions in promoting social interaction and enhancing public life. Gehl director Rasmus Duong-Grunnet shared the project findings at the renowned BMW Pavilion in Munich, alongside contributions from then-Mayor Katrin Habenschaden and Head of Mobility Department, Georg Dunkel.
