Community Activation
Streets, alleys, and plazas are some of Seattle's greatest public space assets and many are available for community gatherings and other social uses. Explore our various community activity programs below to find out more!
Block Parties and Play Streets
Small, residential street closures that aim to bring neighbors together.
Festival Streets
We've designated specific streets in Seattle as Festival Streets so communities can quickly and easily hold events. Most permits for events on Festival Streets are free.
PARK(ing) Day
Annually, people temporarily transform parking spaces worldwide into "people spaces". On the third Friday of September, PARK(ing) Day is an opportunity to reimagine how streets can be used by the public. The initiative started as a grassroots movement meant to repurpose public space, especially in areas where access to parks and open space is limited.
People Streets
In an effort to support our neighborhoods, we closed off certain blocks to vehicles in order to implement temporary, pedestrian-only streets. From 2015-2017, we partnered with the Capitol Hill community to pilot this program in the Pike/Pine corridor. Following the success of our pilot, we are expanding the People Streets opportunity to other neighborhoods across the city.
Street and Sidewalk Activities
We also encourage medium-scale activities in streets, alleys, or plazas. These include, but are not limited to, farmers' markets, sidewalk sales, and intersection mural paintings.
Special Events
Large-scale events with more than 500 people at one time or more than 99 people in an enclosed space such as a fenced-off kids' play area require a Special Event permit.