Parking Day 2026

This artistic intervention highlights how Berlin’s residential streets have changed

The installation: two eras, one street – creeping change

Whilst there is intense public debate about the future technical and ethical aspects of ‘autonomous driving’, ‘Autonomes Stehen’ addresses a challenge that is already a reality in urban spaces.

The ‘Autonomes Stehen’ installation parks cars from the 1980s alongside modern vehicles on the street in front of Kyffhäuserstraße 23 in Berlin-Schöneberg (between Hohenstaufenstraße and Frankenstraße, south of Winterfeldtplatz and parallel to Eisenacherstraße and Goltzstraße). Without commentary or narrative, but through direct comparison, visitors experience how the streetscape has gradually changed over the decades due to ever-larger car bodies and increasingly tinted windows. An effect that the organisers – Alexander Schmid, Valentin Kranz and Nele Peschel – compare to the ‘boiling frog syndrome’.

On the opposite side of the road, in front of Kyffhäuserstraße 3, ‘green’ islands with sun loungers invite visitors to linger during Parking Day, offering the best view of the installation of parked cars. #PhotoOpportunity :-)

The finding: 23 hours of autonomous standstill – who owns the street space?

The installation is based on a figure from the Federal Ministry of Transport’s study ‘Mobility in Germany’: on average, the daily driving time of a car is just 42 minutes; almost half of all cars do not move at all on an average day. Mathematically, this means a car stands still for around 23 hours a day – mostly on public roads.

The fact that vehicles spend the majority of their time stationary is also well known to the automotive industry: the former VW CEO Herbert Diess also publicly estimated the usage time of his cars in 2022 to be just one hour a day and lamented 96 per cent ‘idle time’. This ‘idle time’ ties up public space with its parking spaces.

Accompanying programme: Discussion beyond dogma

On 18 September, from 5 pm, the accompanying programme will take place on the Studio Stage at Theater Strahl (also at Kyffhäuserstraße 23), exploring the socio-political questions raised by the installation: How do I relate to cars in the city? How do I see the city through and beyond the cars? What do the tools of mobility achieve during the average of 23 hours a day that they are parked? Speakers and panellists will include:

• Prof. Dr Andreas Knie, WZB Berlin Social Science Centre, mobility research, author of ‘Where do all these cars come from and how do we get rid of them?’ (6.15 pm)
• Prof. Dr Martin Rolfs, Professor of ‘General Psychology: Active Perception and Cognition’ at Humboldt University of Berlin (6.30 pm)
• Representatives from the transport policy departments of the CDU, SPD, Die Linke and the Greens (7.00 pm)
• Saskia Ellenbeck, Greens
• Lead candidate for the Tempelhof-Schöneberg District Assembly
• Moritz Riesinger, SPD
• Deputy Chair of the SPD Schöneberg and candidate for the Tempelhof-Schöneberg District Assembly
• Johannes Rudschies, CDU
• District Councillor for Tempelhof-Schöneberg, transport policy spokesperson for the parliamentary group
• Elisabeth Staudt, The Left
• Candidate for the Berlin House of Representatives

All details of the supporting programme, including the respective start and end times, can be found HERE

The supporting programme continues the debate that began in May 2025 as part of the ‘Consider Listening’ series of events at the Haubrok Foundation’s Fahrbereitschaft Lichtenberg.

The installation is complemented by a digital walk through a residential street in Berlin, as well as a physical model on a scale of 1:24, in which visitors can arrange and photograph existing and ideal parking scenarios themselves, and a digital walk through a Berlin residential street. The model had already delighted visitors at the Haubrok Foundation’s Fahrbereitschaft Lichtenberg, as it allows them to experience the layout and use of parking spaces on a street in a playful way.

Comment from the organisers

Speaking at the panel discussion with transport policy spokespeople (CDU, SPD, Greens, Left Party), Alexander Schmid stated on behalf of the ‘Autonomes Stehen’ team:

“We’re not just offering a ‘pretty’ installation to look at. With a transport policy debate taking place just two days before the elections to the House of Representatives and the district councils, all visitors to ‘Autonomes Stehen’ can compare the political positions of the parties. Live and unfiltered. On the one hand, this offers all visitors a good opportunity for democratic participation by asking the candidates their own questions. On the other hand, I see the discussion above all as a strong signal from the politicians in favour of democratic dialogue amongst themselves. We are looking to see whether they are capable of compromise in order to create stable, democratic majorities for a government in Berlin after the election.”

International Parking Day

The initiative was launched in 2005 by the San Francisco-based design studio Rebar (www.myparkingday.org) to challenge the dominance of cars in urban spaces. In this open, participatory event, car parks are temporarily transformed into public parks, playgrounds or meeting places to demonstrate alternative uses of public space or to encourage an artistic engagement with parking spaces. Over the past two decades, Parking Day has developed a strong tradition and attracted participants worldwide. Every year, on Parking Day – the third Friday in September – numerous events take place, including in Berlin.

Main VCD event for PARK(ing) Day in Berlin

The main Berlin event organised by VCD Nordost e.V. (Verkehrsclub Deutschland, North-East Regional Association) for PARK(ing) Day 2026 will take place on Friday, 18 September 2026, from 3 pm to 9 pm on Berliner Straße in Wilmersdorf, between Bamberger Straße/Kufsteiner Straße and Prinzregentenstraße, within walking distance of the ‘Autonomes Stehen’ installation on Kyffhäuserstraße.

VCD Nordost is the regional branch of the ecological transport association VCD for Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It campaigns for climate-friendly mobility, road safety and a fairer distribution of public space.

Mobility Action during European Mobility Week

‘Autonomes Stehen’ is a Mobility Action taking place as part of European Mobility Week, which is held every year from 16 to 22 September as the European Commission’s flagship campaign on sustainable urban mobility. The campaign promotes behavioural changes towards active mobility, public transport and other environmentally friendly transport solutions. The Federal Environment Agency acts as the national coordinating body for Germany during European Mobility Week. The Federal Environment Agency supports and assists local authorities and interested organisations participating in Germany in this, the world’s largest campaign for sustainable mobility.