More grey than green

Feb 23, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – At his press conference held yesterday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo was very flippant about the increased encroachment of green spaces by his government.

His approach to this issue revealed his poor understanding of the concept of green spaces. It is now widely accepted, as part of the urban renewable process, that green spaces have myriad benefits for cities. First, they serve as vital lungs for cities, purifying the air we breathe and mitigating the effects of pollution by trapping harmful pollutants and releasing oxygen, thereby improving air quality and fostering a healthier environment.

Green havens provide respite from the concrete monotony, offering places for relaxation, recreation, sport and socialization. Places such as the National Park is not simply for exercise but is used also for picnics and leisurely walks. Beyond their recreational value, green spaces, such as the Botanic and Promenade Gardens, serve as places for preserving and displaying the country’s plant species. Urban greenery provides a refuge for birds and insects.

Well-maintained parks and green corridors contribute to the aesthetic appeal of neighborhoods, making them more desirable places in which to live and work. Having green spaces also allows for rain water to be absorbed during heavy rains, thus helping with flood control.

As cities expand outward, they occupy large vast swaths of land, thereby reducing greed spaces. This rapid expansion diminishes the overall quality of life for residents by depriving residents of the benefits associated with green spaces. However, green spaces offer a potent antidote to the detrimental effects of urban sprawl. By preserving and integrating green infrastructure within urban landscapes, cities can mitigate the adverse impacts of sprawl.

Georgetown was once renowned not only for its green spaces but also its planed tree-lined streets. These tall palm trees and the birds that often alight on them are disappearing. Jagdeo wants us to believe that the mere building of one hotel has created hysteria among those who are critical of the decision to build the hotel at the location on Carifesta Avenue.  But it is not a case of one hotel; what we have been witnessing is a steady process of encroachment on places usually reserved for sports, recreation and leisure.

Jagdeo does not have a distinguished record of respect for green spaces. The Luckhoo Swimming Pool may not have been a green space but it was a recreational facility. Instead of renovating this public facility for use by the public, the government built the Marriot Hotel, and will soon divest itself of that facility to a foreign enterprise. Under his administration Roger Luncheon announced plans to build a massive government office complex at Durban Park. Had the government had the resources to do so then, that green expanse would have disappeared.

The GUYSTAC Ground was sold to a bank and a massive structure erected upon it. That green space disappeared. There were plans also to take over the Georgetown Cricket Club Ground. The beautiful and eye-caching grounds of Castellini House were reduced by the construction of a number of security-related buildings under the PPPC.

Now that Jagdeo is back within the government, there are incursions into the green space at Durban Park. A fire station has been built on a plot of land, next to the National Sports Hall. And surprisingly, on the plot of land next door to that fire station, where there used to be cricket/football field, construction works are taking place. It is rumored that the works are private development. Does Jagdeo know what is being constructed at that location and by whom?

But it does not stop there. The grass medians along the East Coast Public Road have now been filled in with concrete tiles. The long green corridor between Vlissengen Road and High Street, which was formerly the train tracks leading into and out of the city, has been asphalted and tiled. At Corriverton where a beautiful park has been built along the river, there is a lovely piece of green patch in front of the bandstand. Except that this green patch is not grass; it is a piece of green carpet. The government of China is supposed to be engaged in the beautification of the Joe Vieira Park. The artist depiction of the project shows more grey than green.

Jagdeo has been visiting a number of communities around Georgetown. But if he ever visits the community of Lodge, he will know that there is no playfield in that highly populated area. The burial ground is off limits for recreation. The government’s idea of beautification is to concrete and tile green spaces. Jagdeo’s idea of having green spaces is to point to our hinterland forests.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• Bharrat Jagdeo, Green, oxygen, recreational, Vice President

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