It is evident that there have been efforts in improving New York City parks in recent years. Many of the playgrounds around my neighborhood have been developed to include new benches, better basketball hoops, brighter colored monkey bars, etc. Despite the dismal economy, the New York Times article says that the park department budget has increased over the years. Perhaps this is an intelligent strategy–investing more money into this department–because nicer parks and better environments can help improve the residents’ mood and mental health. I know there are criticisms about low-income resident neighborhoods not having enough parks or green space, or for them being of poor quality if they do exist. But I think parks like Central Park and Byrant Park are in good condition because there are people that really care about them, enough to form these nonprofit groups like Central Park Conservancy and Bryant Park Restoration Corporation. Not to say that people of poor neighborhoods do not care about their parks, but perhaps they don’t have the time or power to do something about them.
I learned from the readings that much of funding for parks come from private sectors. Although there are many cons about the privatization of parks, I believe that it is more efficient and the parks are of higher quality when they are managed and funded by private industries. I think parks are very important because they can help improve the quality of land and even the quality of lives of the residents. I used to live in South Korea when I was young, and since the land is very small, all the buildings are cramped together and there aren’t a lot of parks and green space, especially in Seoul, the city I used to live in. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that South Korea has one of the lowest life satisfaction rates. When I came to New York, there were so many parks in my neighborhood, or just ten minutes away by car. I think the park department and Bloomberg are doing a good job with parks and in development of parks, and I don’t mind privatization of parks in trade for better quality of them.
