At dinner the other night, a lady acquaintance put forth this question to me. “Tariq, right around the corner of our home is a fenced park. We have tried to access the park with our children, but there is a locked gate. I have tried at different times of the day to spot the opening and closing of the gate but without luck. Just how do I go about finding out who manages this park and whether it is privately owned? It would be wonderful for my young ones to be able to go there and get some physical activity. And it is so near and convenient.”
“Well, my dear lady, there are a number of things you can do. Short of monitoring the comings and goings of visitors to this park on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week, you could check with the neighborhood real estate office on the status of the land this park is on. He should be able to tell you something. Ask your neighbors if they know what’s with the park closure. They might know something. Failing that, you could try with our friends at the municipality. I’m sure your query would give them something productive to do for that day.”
She persisted, “What I don’t understand with the shortage of parks in this city is why this little corner of green is just sitting there locked up and unused, while kids are out there playing on the streets, dodging errant drivers, and putting their lives at great risk. I personally do not allow my children out on the streets, but there are others who live in small apartments in the neighborhood, and have no other choice but to let their kids out on the streets to run around and play. It is so dangerous. Why can’t the gates of this park be opened so the children can have a safer environment to play in?”
She had a point.
“You know something?” I countered. “I remember years ago that whenever a new lot development was advertised for sale, the maps of the development would show the individual lots, the land allocated for parks, land allocated for mosques, schools, neighborhood shops, etc. But drive around these developments today, and you could count the number of parks on the fingers of one hand.”
“And do you know why? It’s because of greed and inefficiency. Greed on the part of the developers who once having sold all the residential lots, hold back on lots allocated for community services. With the passage of time and the development of the area, they then sell these lots to others and make quite a bundle. No parks, no schools, no mosques. As for those convincing adverts that sucked in people with promises to buy lots with neighborhood schools and parks, well they are just that — convincing adverts.”
“As years go by, these lots that have been held back rise in property value, and the greed of the owner-developer catches up with him. He fences the land and waits for a prospective buyer. It could be somebody who wants to open up a gas station or a butchery outlet, but does the developer care? He’s got higher returns on his money, and the residents are left holding the bag. No wonder you see gas stations smack adjacent to residential homes. Now how safe could that be?”
“And then there is the inefficiency of the municipality. They are the ones who approve the initial drawings of the development layout. Yet they fail to force the property owner-developer to establish the promised schools and parks. Time and again we have witnessed such areas springing up around the city, but where are the pledged lots allocated for community services?”
“And were it not for pompous announcements from the municipality as to how they are working hard to make this city a better place, I would dismiss the lack of recreation areas to other factors. It is indeed a shame that the budget allocated to the municipality goes into projects that have no fundamental value to the residents.”
“Every neighborhood should have a proper park. We can have greenery in different neighborhoods of the city. We see it in massive roundabouts, with water fountains and carpets of grass and shrubbery in selected areas. But roundabouts are not ideal for children to cross into. They may appeal to our visual senses, but are impractical for children to play in. And our streets are no safer.”
“You know, my lady friend, I have seen a lot of mayors come and go. But the only residential improvements I can truthfully say I have observed and remarked on are in the vicinity of their own dwellings. Coincidence? Go figure.”
“Unless our present mayor acts forcefully upon this sore deficiency in the many residential areas scattered around the city, we will always be left holding short with our dream of our little corner of green.”
