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Green spaces
15 October 2009
Author:Bex Bailey
Green spaces.
How important are green spaces to you? Do they enhance a community or just take up valuable space?
Having green spaces in an area generally increases the prices of nearby houses, implying that people generally see them as an asset to communities. However, as land becomes more expensive and developers are looking to build more houses to meet government targets, perhaps green spaces a luxury we can't afford.
Children are increasingly whiling away their free time on computers and glued to television screens - so is that making parks irrelevant or is it a sign that we need to improve our parks so that they appeal more to young people?
From my experience, our parks are well-used, and I think children and young people should spend even more time outside enjoying them. They are a place to exercise or relax; a place for young people to go to indulge in picnics and games of football or cricket. They improve our lifestyles and the appearance of our area. Green areas are good for encouraging wildlife to thrive.
So, should we have more parks and green spaces or do you think Rushcliffe is park-saturated and we should focus efforts on preserving what we already have?
Or is green space a waste of space and should it be scrapped in favour of more housing or other facilities?
Responses to this Blog post
Isabella Robbins says:
28.10.2009
I have always considered access to green space to be important. As a child growing up in the south of England we had a common and a wood to explore, always. These memories are precious to me and represent a freedom and independence learnt and valued. Now I have my own children and our ten years in West Bridgford have seen the steady whittling away of green places close to us. Sometimes just small spaces but in its place always housing.
Now Sharphill Wood represents a very valuable place to me. In the last eighteen months access to this space and the freedom that comes with it has become even more important to me. I was diagnosed with a long term health condition eighteen months ago, and as a result of surgery for this I have been left with a sight impairment. One of the consequences of this has been the loss of my driving licence. Now I face the quite devastating thought that my total independence in accessing a beautiful green space is going to be taken away from me. Not getting to the places I once did by car is hard for me. Being able to get to a green space by myself, without having to ask anyone to get me there is a indescribable feedom. To have this space taken away, a place that can be walked to without 'the car' I consider to be an infringement of my personal liberty and ultimately disability discrimination.
I'm tempted to ask why those who proclaim to speak for their community haven't considered the notion of disability and green spaces. The progressive social model of disability considers disability is imposed on people by society by putting barriers in the way of how people with disabilities live their lives. Taking these local green spaces away assumes the individual can gain access to distant green spaces. I suggest all policy makers relinquish their driving licences for eighteen months and find out how lives are lived without a car. You may realise that those things like access and independence to open spaces should be a right and not a privilege.
I say this without once mentioning two important related issues. First, the idea that having developed this disability the benefits in terms of my well-being and health, in being able to walk on woodland and open spaces is priceless. Second our planet and its resources are finite.