I recently attended the launch of a book called “Public Parks, Open and Green Spaces: A Planning and Development Guide” by ASSURE. Prior to the launch there was a talk and a panel discussion related to adapting to hotter cities. One of the comments that struck me most came from a pregnant panelist, who said that the value of open space for a new mother takes on a whole new level.
I couldn’t agree more! As the mother to an 18-month old squirmy toddler, I am craving for a safe, green open space where I can just let her run around to her heart’s delight. We have a tiny house, and every few steps she is in danger of running into a wall or sharp corner. More often than not she wants to go out.
We don’t have a lawn, just narrow yards in between houses and a shared concrete garage. So the street outside our house is our most accessible open space, but one has to be very alert as a parent. Every few minutes a tricycle or motorcycle whizzes by. There’s broken pavement she can trip on. Stray dogs and cats wander around, pooping everywhere. There’s garbage.
While I hear no complaints from my little one (she loves the animals; to her everything is interesting, like the candy wrappers and bottle tops she stops to pick up, or the water meters she repeatedly opens and closes), I am yearning for a space where I can feel that she’s safe. The street is fun for her, but stressful for me.
There is a city park with a children’s playground a 15-minute jeepney ride away (photo below), but I don’t wanna go there everyday. It’s too far (and maybe too big — chasing around a toddler is exhausting). So that’s reserved for a once-in-a-while family outing.
According to the book, what we need are local or neighborhood parks which are within walking distance – which could range from 150m to 500m, with a size of less than 0.5 to 1 hectare, and at least 30m to 50m wide (see images from the book below). Unfortunately, this neighborhood is already a dense, built-up area. The only potential open space I can see is the seashore, and empty privately-owned lots.
The sea is actually just a five minute walk away. But we hardly go there because we are also within the Manila Bay area- which means that the beach is usually full of plastic, and the water probably teeming with E. coli. In an ideal world we should be able to go there everyday to build sandcastles. But right now the only sand she’s playing with are those in between the gaps in the concrete pavement.
The seashore could be cleaned up, but it’s a huge challenge, due to the informal settlements lining the coastline plus the waste from other coastal areas (think housing program, waste management program, etc, etc. – it will take a while).
If I were rich, I would buy up the abandoned (or hardly used) lots nearby and convert them into safe spaces for families to hang out in. Or maybe this is what government should do. Or could the government and the landowners enter into an agreement? Food for thought!
If there’s no space, could our street be converted into a formal shared street? Click here to see a before-and-after treatment of a residential shared street.
If you want to get a copy of the book, it is still being finalized for printing (and reportedly will also be made available online). I will put more details here as soon as they are available.
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Pinay Arkitek 