UNIT 2: HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD
My name‿ is‿ Oscar. I use the park near my flat daily,│ an(d) the longer‿ I atten(d) to how it‿ is‿ administered,│ the more clearly I perceive‿ a municipal failure being presented‿ as‿ a financial one.
For five years the budget has been reduced. The grass‿ is mown less frequently,│ two toilets have been permanently closed,│ an(d) litter,│ formerly seasonal,│ is now a constan(t) feature. Volunteers do what they can,│ and‿ I objec(t) to the arrangement‿ on principle:│ provision that depends‿ upon the unpaid labour‿ of residents with spare time‿ is not‿ equitable,│ since‿ it redistributes the cos(t) precisely to those│ who can least‿ afford‿ it. There‿ is now a proposal to commodify part‿ of the park‿ as‿ a paying garden,│ which would generate revenue for the remaining maintenance,│ an(d) which would‿ also create‿ a space that‿ is nominally public‿ and‿ effectively reserved for those‿ able to pay the entrance.
The most‿ objectionable‿ element‿ is the accounting. Green space‿ is deferred maintenance dressed‿ as discretionary expenditure,│ an(d) the well-being‿ it produces cannot be measured‿ in the year‿ it‿ is spent,│ so it loses‿ every budget‿ argument‿ against‿ a road‿ or‿ a hospital. Yet the evidence‿ on‿ accessibility an(d) biodiversity is‿ unambiguous,│ and‿ a park‿ is the least‿ expensive‿ intervention‿ available for both. Should the cityci-dy decline to fund‿ it,│ somebody will‿ eventually privatise‿ it,│ an(d) we shall discover what we possessed‿ only│ once‿ it has been fenced. I have yet to hear that‿ explained‿ as plainly as‿ it deserves,│ an(d) the omission‿ is not‿ accidental.