The Parking Day Network is excited to announce the 2025 International Parklet Design Competition

Full Submission Guidelines

1. Eligibility

  • Open worldwide to individuals, teams, organizations, and municipalities.

  • Projects must be real-world installations (no speculative designs).

  • Each participant may submit up to 3 entries across all categories.

2. Categories

You may enter in one or more of the following categories:

  • Best Public Parklet – publicly accessible parklets in the right-of-way.

  • Best Social Service Parklet – installations that support public services, e.g. community kitchens, health clinics, food pantries.

  • Best Patio (Commercial Outdoor Dining) – streateries or outdoor dining structures that enhance public space and streetscape.

3. What to Submit

Each entry must include:

  1. High-Quality Photograph(s)

    • Format: JPG (preferred) or TIFF (PSD accepted if needed)

    • Resolution: 300 dpi minimum, shortest side ≥ 4 inches (≈1200 px).

    • Quality: Original, unaltered files (no filters, no artificial up-resing).

    • Max upload size: 50 MB per file (Airtable allows up to 5 GB per base, so this is safe).

  2. Project Details

    • Project Name

    • Location: City, State/Province, Countr

    • Year Installed

    • Short Description (100–150 words): purpose, design intent, materials, impact.

  3. Credit Line & Contact Info

    • Photographer/creator credit as you wish it to appear in print.

    • Entrant’s name, organization (if applicable), email.

4. Rights & Release

By submitting, you:

  • Affirm that you are the copyright holder or have obtained permission from the copyright holder for all materials.

  • I grant John Bela (author of The Parklet Book), Island Press (the publisher), and their assigns and licensees the non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide right to: Reproduce, distribute, and display the submitted work(s) in The Parklet Book, in all languages, in all current and future editions, and in all formats and media (including print and digital).
    Use, reproduce, and adapt the work(s) for any marketing, publicity, and promotional purposes related to The Parklet Book and the 2025 International Parklet Design Competition. Feature the work(s) on the author’s personal and professional websites, the Park(ing) Day website, and associated social media channels. This grant does not transfer copyright — I retain all rights to the work(s) and may use, license, and publish them elsewhere.

  • Agree to have your credit line published with the work.

5. Selection & Prizes

Entries will be juried for design excellence, contextual creativity, and quality of documentation. Winners receive:

  • Best Public Parklet: $500 / $250 / $150

  • Best Social Service Parklet: $500 / $250 / $150

  • Best Patio: $500 / $250 / $150

    Winning projects will be featured in The Parklet Book (Island Press) and promoted via the Park(ing) Day Network.

6. Deadline & Notification

  • Deadline: December 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST

  • Winners will be notified in early 2026 and announced publicly on myparkingday.org and social channels.

Enter Submission