Over the last decade, there has been a growing concern about the necessity of replacing parks with housing and commercial facilities, connected to urbanization processes. In fact, I disagree that the need in greater amounts of buildings should be prioritized over parklands.
Firstly, public parks are essential facilities on a city map, aiming to provide citizens with an opportunity to enjoy their time in a peaceful, car-free space. Although it could be argued that rural recreational areas may perform this function, I believe that such options may be unavailable for certain groups of population, for example elderly or people with special needs. Very often such people are limited in mobility due to health reasons, which make them difficult to travel out of the bounds of a city of even neighborhood. So, cutting down local park areas will significantly reduce their chances to spend time somewhere outside. Moreover, exurban leisure locations and resorts are usually commercial property, which means visitors are charged for using amenities within the territory. Thus, lack of free alternatives can create additional financial burden on population, leading to life quality decrease.
In addition, parks, as well as other elements of natural landscape are indispensable attributes of urban ecosystem, and their preservation is vital for ecological balance support. Recently, creating of various green areas and re-wildering have become a universal trend, being introduced even in the world’s most developed cities. For instance, Singapore authorities have invested into more than 150 kilometers of green spaces and gardens, in order to save biodiversity of the region, creating habitat for small animals and birds. It is also well known that planted trees sufficiently contribute to the reduction of the negative affect of carbon emissions, exhaust gases and noise pollution. These are benefits, which are unequaled by any technological means so far.
In conclusion, while the increase in the number of urban residents is followed by growing demand in residential and commercial real estate, I doubt that this issue should be tackled at the expense of municipal parks. These areas play a crucial role in resident’s wellbeing that is highly unlikely to be compensated with any alternatives.