Park(ing) Day for Fitness: P-spots in Wroclaw, Poland
The main idea in organizing P-Spots in Wroclaw was diversity. The activity was organized on former and current parking spaces, and indicated a constant change in urban space. What was once a parking space is not one today. What is currently a parking space can be turned into a place for physical activity. It is up to the ingenuity and actions of the residents what meaning we shall give to the places around us.
Wroclaw residents jointly took part in such activities as a spontaneous dance (Cialo Movi), calisthenics (CaliAthletics) or a martial arts training (Mae Keage Kyokushin). It was also possible to try less popular sports, such as Frisbee - with its current Polish champions (Flow Ultimate Wroclaw), or body movement (Playground), and get massaged (Super Fizjo Bros). All interventions were conducted by experienced instructors and athletes.
The V4SPORT Foundation showed that physical activity is not just fitness classes with a trainer. In addition to active P-Spots, in which movement was moderated by a trainer/p-spotter, so-called passive P-Spots were set up, without leaders explaining the rules. An example of such a p-spot was a foosball game, which was very popular. Participation in the game very often meant that people who did not know each other came to play together. This showed that arranging such spots serves integration, with a relatively low expenditure of time, labour and money.
One of the more interesting P-Spots was a neighbourhood walk, which was also a research walk. The main goal was to generate discussion about the influence of residents on their immediate surroundings and how they perceive them. Naturally, all the discussion took place at a passive P-Spot, which allowed participants to pause their walk for a while, automatically becoming a place to reflect on the problem of space management.
A debate with residents became the culmination of the activities, with a P-spot in the background (the foosball game). Together with our partners (Stowarzyszenie Zolty Parasol, FEPS, Stowarzyszenie Przyjazn Sztuka Edukacja) and invited guests from the City Hall of Wroclaw and Rada Osiedla Nadodrze, we discussed the direction of changes in urban planning. There was also a summary of the activities of the European Mobility Week in Wroclaw, of which Park(ing) Day For Fitness was a part.
Park(ing) Day for Fitness builds on the existing practices and guidelines provided by Rebar, where BG Be Active and the project consortium are adding an element of a multi-sport day event to offer activities that promote active lifestyles and engage the public. For more information, please check our website - https://parkingdayforfitness.bgbeactive.org/
Park(ing) Day for Fitness is funded by the European Union. The project coordinator is BG Be Active, and the other partner organizations are Placemaking Europe, Association Sport for all Suceava (AJSPT Suceava), V4 SPORT FOUNDATION, Azur Sport Sante, and XsentrikArts.