Give The Public Some Space, Please

15 September 2021

A big trick to liveable cities – are some safe, clean and good public spaces. I’m not talking about big gardens, large attractions or national parks, not here. Just a few scattered, almost incidental green spaces… where people can sit, have lunch, have a chat, look at some trees or birds, catch some rays, and just be connected to nature and her objective realities again. It’s good for the soul to be grounded – to connect to natural reality, the biosphere, the ecology. We have these little green oases everywhere – and to me it’s a sign of a healthy society and healthy community. As updates are being made to the buildings around it (maintenance is another key to making cities liveable) – this little park is really just a lawn, two chairs, a light and a bush or two. Yet it adds something the greatest historical or technological improvements can’t. Sometimes, the public needs some space… like fish need water.

Peter van der Walt is a fiction author, although you may find some non-fiction and the odd essay out there. Fans can find his newsletter, posts, updates and developments at petervanderwalt.com. Currently, he is hard at work on his next story. When not writing, he has far too many interests to reasonably keep up with. He lives with his partner in Devon, England.