“My mom keeps nagging me to go and play outside when she sees me watch­ing television,” says 12-year-old Santosh Gurung of Gairigaun. “She forgets there is construction going on in the open land near our house. Where do I go?” The kid has a point.

 

In 2007, for the first time in the history of mankind, more than half the world’s population lived in cit­ies. This urban population is expect­ed to rise by 1.5 billion over the next two decades. As the cities grow, preserving open spaces within them becomes an imperative, for a city is more than buildings and people.

 

Sometimes, an open space can be neatly tied to a city’s culture. The Central Park in New York, the Hyde Park in London, the Stanley Park in Vancouver, the Hibiya Park in Tokyo and the Phoenix Park in Dublin are a few such parks. In oth­er words, these cities have cleverly embedded open spaces. According to WHO, a person needs nine square meters of space. But Kathmandu has only 0.25 meters per person. Why the shortfall?

 

Bhai Kaji Tiwari, the Development Commissioner at the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, attri­butes “the perceived lack of open spaces” to centralization of services (See interview here). He says that although only 17 percent of land in the valley is occupied by build­ings, the city is considered congest­ed because of the concentration of population in parts where most ser­vices and amenities are centralized.

 

Urban planner Suman Maharjan for his part characterizes open areas as “the lungs of a city” as they pro­vide place for people to breathe and relax. He says besides help­ing in times of emergencies like earthquakes, green spaces also help reduce air pollution.

 

Dust dangers

With an Environment Perfor­mance Index (EPI) of 31.44, Nepal ranks among the countries with worst air quality. “The case of dust pollution is worse than pollution caused by vehicles in Kathmandu,” says Yogendra Chitrakar, an environ­mentalist. “Green spaces in the val­ley will help mitigate the problem of both dust and vehicle-induced pol­lution by filtering the air naturally.”

 

According to a research by Ana Virtudes of University of Beira Inte­rior in Portugal, not only does veg­etation add to the aesthetic appeal of cities, it also helps reduce urban heat by releasing moisture.

 

Moreover, there are numerous health benefits associated with pub­lic parks and green spaces. Access to them have been associated with reduced stress and anxiety. A study by researchers at University of Tam­pere, Finland found that spend­ing as little as 10 minutes in a park or urban woodland could tangibly reduce stress.

 

Additionally, “lack of public parks in Kathmandu is also a major cause of inactive lifestyle as people have no place to jog and exercise,” says Dr Om Murti Anil, senior interven­tional cardiologist at Grande Inter­national Hospital.

 

He argues improving access to public open space can increase the level of physical activity. “Walking is the cheapest exercise,” he says. “Lack of public parks not only push­es people to spend more money on physical activity, it also makes them more prone to road accidents.” With public parks, physical activity will not weigh heavy on low income families’ pockets, Dr Anil explains, nor do they have to contend with reckless drivers.

 

Improve parks, improve life

“The lesser the number of open spaces, the more likely we are to remain bound to our gadgets and shun social engagement,” says Chi­trakar, the environmentalist. Parks provide space for neighborhood residents to interact and meet new people. “They are also great spaces for events and recreational activi­ties, allowing people to develop a sense of community”.

 

In the reckoning of Dr Anil, such increased social engagement is cor­related with psychological health as well. Highlighting the urgent need for the authorities to acknowledge the necessity of green open spaces in the valley, Chitrakar adds, “the government should prioritize devel­opment of open spaces and parks rather than erect concrete towers. Better to plan green pockets at cer­tain distances, and seek the help of locals to manage them.”

 

But perhaps no one puts it better than Gil Penalosa, an advocate for ‘active cities’: “We need to think of parks more as outdoor community centers where we need to invest in uses and activities so they can fulfill their potential. When we improve parks, we’re really improving qual­ity of life”