Should Public Park Space Be Privatized?

"The Fairmount Park Commission recently gave its approval for an apartment building with auto access planned for a tiny parcel of land behind the Rodin Museum" in downtown Philadelphia. "...cities all over the country are struggling to weigh strapped budgets with ample park space and the would-be developers who are eager to build...David Masur, director of PennEnvironment, a statewide environmental organization, [states that] ‘open spaces are important for things like drainage. Nature uses green spaces as a big sponge and stops areas from flooding. Research shows that green spaces help keep cities cooler during summer months. And we know that common space is important for building communities...There is an inherent value in green space when people are in a city bombarded with traffic and big buildings. That's not to say that some cities aren't really in need of more housing. In those places, there has to be a push to develop on blighted areas before using the green space.'"

Thanks to David Gest