Parasol share is an artful way to give shoppers & pedestrians portable shade.

Benefits & Problems Addressed:

Comfort: Offer a better pedestrian experience on campuses or in shopping districts that have discontinuous tree canopy or awnings.

Place branding: For Main Streets & business districts, parasols offer a canvas for art and branding.

Tips & Techniques

Clearly marked pick-up & drop-off points: Provide storefront stickers, maps and social media to promote pick up and drop off points. 

Public Art: Have artists decorate parasols

Branding: Apply organizational or sponsors' logos, or print schedules or events. 

Where to buy: Online sources have paper & nylon parasols for less than $8 each. Find parasols big enough to provide share but not so big as to interfere with pedestrian flow on narrow sidewalks.

Hot Buttons: Cost, replacing lost or broken parasols.

Resources

Parasol Share, Georgetown Business Improvement District, Washington, DC US

Image: Georgetown BID