The concept of transforming automobile infrastructure into temporary public spaces originated from PARK(ing) Day, an activity first organized by the Rebar Group from San Francisco in 2005. The motivation behind this idea was Rebar's desire to "activate the metered parking space as a site for creative experimentation, political, and cultural expression, and unscripted social interaction" (The PARK(ing) Day Manual).

Communities across the world have joined this movement by organizing and supporting temporary public installations following PARK(ing) Day's core principles. Their common objective is to convert small areas of automobile infrastructure into a prototype for open-source urban design that is accessible to everyone. Cities, like New York and San Francisco, are using the success of this event to evaluate the potential of reprogramming parking areas into spaces for social exchange and artistic expression that could, eventually, be implemented as permanent Parklets.

An oversupply of surface parking can be unsightly and uninviting to residents, visitors and workers of any urban setting; particularly where vast grey infrastructure is accompanied by a lack of green public space. Parklets provide a temporary solution by creating park-like areas with public amenities that might be, otherwise, unavailable. Such amenities can include shading, seating, bike racks, planters, public art, and more.