BOOM POP PARK

SITELAB urban studio partnered with Sand Hill Property Company, LMNOP Design, Studio O, and Emily Weinstein to develop two temporary parks, Boom Pop Park and Bridge Pop Park, to transform ~0.7-acres of vacant land in East Palo Alto’s Woodland Park neighborhood.

The parks were built in response to residents’ desire for a safe space for kids to play and families to exercise. Colorful, vibrant, and multipurpose objects and paths create a variety of social, play, and exercise spaces in a neighborhood isolated from healthy outdoor social spaces.

Designers first held a series of community conversations and workshops where residents prioritized preferred uses, selected the park names (the kids had the best suggestions), and gave extensive feedback on the park play elements. The design team then fabricated affordable park elements tailored to the community’s feedback.

The parks both feature a variety of custom design components --- a platform for fitness classes, a walking path for strolling, a bike track where kids can safely learn and play, market stalls and food truck pads for community events, and plenty of fun structures for climbing and imaginative play. Woodland Park Communities has extended the park’s usage by partnering with the East Palo Alto Family YMCA to provide free exercise classes and regularly uses the space for community events.

As design advisors, SITELAB assembled the team and guided the integration of resident input, design, program, and project identity, in addition to designing the environmental graphics that announce the park to the neighborhood. In summer of 2020, the project was awarded an Honorable Mention for the Civic + Government category of SF Design Week Awards.

Strategy and Design Process

Community Engagement

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