Parks & Re/Creation

 I went to a "community input" meeting at my local park which is in the midst of adding "amenities" to it, thanks to the staff of the Parks and Recreation Department and a local design firm. To be clear, my neighborhood park is a grassy meadow and covers about five acres or slightly more than 3 square blocks. It was purchased by the city when the former owner died (it was a private business that largely delivered dirt for the years I've lived near it). At the moment, there are two sizeable garden plots, a weird metal sculpture with some new landscaping, a large pile of mulch, a water hose spigot, a couple of picnic tables, and a trash bin. We have gardeners, dog walkers, a random cyclist who sets up obstacle courses on the grass, high school students who hang out and likely smoke in a clump of trees toward the back of it, and occasional family sightings. In a word, it could use improvement--or be left alone.

As common spaces are harder to come by, I like the idea of creating a space where families with or without kids, teens, old folks, gardeners, and solace seekers can comingle. This park seems like a reasonable place to do it. However, the plans call for building a shelter, a playground, a bathroom, and loads of concrete including a paved parking area to make it accessible--in addition to increasing the gardening space. To this reasonable people may disagree.

Suffice it to say, there is a difference of opinion about what makes a park a park. While I think about the future and the needs of the aforementioned groups, neighbors living nearest to the park fear the change as becoming disruptive to them or creating potential flooding in their basements--status quo would be their preference. Some of the parents worry about having to watch their kids on the playground equipment while they garden and prefer nature as is while others want a playground. I like the idea of a gathering place and think a shelter is fine, but want it to be solar-powered and include a bathroom that benefits from that power, others don't. Some others think we have plenty of garden plots and others want more. Some want more open space and others want park benches and plants. One thing most seem to agree on is we love our trees!

A neighborhood is a microcosm and misses voices in the conversation. For instance, neighbors who are new and more diverse. We also don't hear from our poorer neighbors who may not be able to make a meeting due to work or children. Kids and teens have no say either. Microcosms, it turns out can be exclusive and majority-centric.

This brings me to the difficulty of planning. No one knows the future, but everyone wants to leave her or his mark on it. Wide and open spaces are becoming a rarity in urban places because we humans are crowding in and pushing creatures outward. Nobody has asked the squirrels or deer what they think should be done with the park, but as they don't pay property taxes, their lives are sort of in our hands. It is my hope that we leave enough open space to allow wildlife a place even as we try to find a way to give the people what they want--whatever that may end up being.