Officially called the Forbes Digital Plaza, this parklet is an outdoor digital gallery and pedestrian plaza featuring art from local, national, and international artists as well as year-round programming and events. The plaza was initiated by the Oakland Business Improvement District as a new approach to public space place-making and community branding.

The Forbes Digital Plaza opened in the fall of 2015, and serves as a place for people to interact and connect by offering free wi-fi and a communal space in the center of Oakland.

While it looks similar to the digital billboards that have popped up throughout the city in recent years, the Forbes Digital Plaza LED screens do not show any advertisements. Innovation Oakland, a subdivision of the Oakland Business Improvement District, which combines information and art to create infrastructure solutions to attract customers to the district, eventually hopes to implement more digital technology throughout Oakland to make the neighborhood more vibrant and accessible.

Future phases of the Innovation Oakland project include static signs for pedestrians and drivers, as well as touch-screen information kiosks.

Art is one of the best opportunities for achieving mindful wellness. The Forbes Digital Plaza infuses art with something most people are involved with everyday--technology, to create an environment that is simultaneously peaceful and thought-provoking, but modern.

The rotating exhibitions often feature opportunities for self-reflection or responses and tributes to current events in an environment that is urban but natural.

Panther Walking Route - Stop 9

Mindful Movement:

Engage in mindful listening, noticing all the sounds around you.  Focus on the rhythm, pitch, volume of the different sounds.

One-Minute Fitness:

Perform 15 jumping jacks.

Savor the Moment:

Who is someone in your life whom you are grateful for?  How has this person positively influenced your life?