Ghost Writing
Parks vs Recreation
Skye Torres
How many national parks do we have in the Philippines? A whole lot. One of them, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park found in Palawan, is considered a World Heritage Site.
The National Parks Development Committee, however, is only in charge of a handful of these parks such as: Rizal Park, Paco Park, Pook Olivia De Salamanca, Mabini Shrine, Pook ni Maria Makiling Park and Burnham Park. As for the other parks, they have their own maintenance and marketing that is not covered under the scope of the NPDC. So what happens to these parks left to their own devices? You tell us.
Parks have been an integral part of the Filipino Community. It is where people unwind and meet-up with friends since tale as old as time. It is considered as the people’s connection to nature; something that is being taken for granted today.
There are, however, certain chains of malls that have been integrating parks into their infrastructure, in hopes to not lose this crucial link between man and nature.
We did a small survey in the Central Business District (CBD) city of Makati and asked them what they thought: Do we need more malls or more parks, and how many national parks they knew. All 14 respondents answered that, yes, there is a need for more parks. This answer is coming from a group of people that have full access to three (3) parks in the city. These same respondents, however, failed to name most of the parks; the common one mentioned, however, was Luneta.
So what is the point here?
Yes, we need more parks, people see it, and yes, we know that the corporations are trying to fill this lack of connection by integrating parks into their malls.
But let’s ask ourselves, what are malls for?
Shopping? Enjoyment? Recreation for stressed individuals? Of course!
What if we tell you there’s another reason:
Social and Economic Welfare.
That’s right. Malls provide people with jobs and stabilize finances especially in rural areas. Malls have stores that would need workers and the people in the area would be able to work for a (semi) regular salary from the shops that hire them. Not only that, the locale chosen would also generate traffic both literally and figuratively. More people visiting or passing by an area means more visibility that would possibly lead to more opportunities for them to market and promote whatever they produce best.
Which brings us back to the importance of why these structures integrate parks into their architecture. They’re aware they’re displacing land, but at the same time they’re generating something that only they could provide.
People, just like our respondents, however, say that the malls that we have today are enough and now more parks need to be generated.
What do you think dear readers? Which side are you on this debate of Parks vs Recreation?