Where are our parks, breathing space?

Why can’t we have a Karura forest in Githurai or Mlolongo? Why can’t we have an Uhuru park in Ruiru or Uthiru?

Why is the roundabout at Uthiru and the underpass at Ruiru to Kamakis turned into ‘parks’ on Sundays?

Why are there no parks in prestigious residences such as Muthaiga or Runda? Why are there no breathing spaces in the CBD? Where can one rest and breathe in our towns?

Our towns are strange by design. They are designed for transition—come work or shop and leave. No time for idleness. Is that why we think any resting place, park or even public bench is not necessary?

Lots of cities, mostly in Europe, are designed for living. You do not need to commute, to something like our Kijabe Street. Does this thinking explain why two big hotels are empty and not turned into apartments; Hilton and Intercontinental? We never learnt from Chester House?

Open spaces or squares are meeting places, to walk around and breathe. They are common in Europe. The best place would be outside KICC facing City Hall if open to the public. Such open spaces are free of cars.

Think of it, if you were to meet someone in CBD where would you meet him or her, and not in a hotel or restaurant? Jevanjee Garden? Uhuru Park?

Parks are under the counties. We expected that after the 2010 Constitution, counties would go into overdrive building parks and open spaces. Beyond Machakos People’s Park, we have not heard of new parks.

Why overdrive? Because land for such parks or spaces is getting scarce. Yet as the population grows so is the need to ‘breathe’. Beyond global warming and carbon sinks, we need open spaces, green spaces, and our link to nature that we are part of.

We are not born to stay indoors. Watch a baby as it learns to walk or crawl. Does it go towards the dark bedroom or bright outdoors?

Traditionally, we had such spaces for ceremonies, water sources or sacred grounds. And, most importantly, as land banks.

Add sports facilities. Which county or city has built football fields, tennis courts, swimming pools, golf courses or walking trails? Noted how fast golf course booking slots fill? Can counties with big tracts of land get golf banks? You may argue golf and other sports are for the affluent, but don’t we all aspire to be that?

We live as if our cities and towns are just giant bedrooms! Yet we only sleep at most eight hours a day.

Lack of open spaces could also be deliberate; we are shepherded into hotels and bars to spend money. Where do you meet your friends for leisure or business? Remember the common sign “no idling”, code for “spend money”.

Why do we build skyscrapers and no corresponding open spaces? No schools or sports facilities. Yet Kenya is a young nation with about 43 per cent of the population 15 years or younger.

We are so used to not ‘breathing’ that we rarely design balconies in our houses. And if present, they are for storage—in the tropics!

It’s perplexing that most of our elected leaders including the founding president spent time abroad but it seems they never saw the open spaces, parks, trails, and waterfronts.

Why did we copy the US Constitution and not their open spaces such as Central Park in New York City? Which US city has no parks, including Harlem in New York? Even huge Shanghai in China has parks.

One of the most pleasant open spaces has always been riverbanks; think of the Seine in Paris, the Thames in London, the Potomac in Washington DC, the Danube in Belgrade or Hwangpu in Shanghai. Add the oceanfront beaches.

How many ocean fronts can we freely visit in Kenya? Just visit the Cape Town waterfront for benchmarking. We are told all beaches are public, what of their access?

Nairobi River should have several mini dams for sailing and walkways. Same with other rivers that pass through other towns such as Garissa, Nanyuki and Athi River. By the way, what happened to the Nairobi dam?

It’s time we stopped seeing open spaces such as parks—and I must add cemeteries—as a waste. They enrich our lives, give us breathing spaces. And possibly affect our quality of life. How do you feel after visiting the countryside? Karura? A golf course? Can we make life easier for mental health specialists?

Counties need to get into the parks frenzy. Individuals in the spirit of Jevanjee can also donate parks and immortalise their names. Have we forgotten botanical gardens? Does Nairobi have any?

I could be accused of being romantic about space when the majority are worried over bread and butter, or sukuma wiki and ugali. But we all aspire to change our lifestyles, have time for leisure, and get close to nature.... visit parks, sail in the ocean, and live in a leafy suburb. And possibly play golf or polo.

Open spaces help us release stress and keep the youngsters off mischief such as drugs. Think of the elderly, why should they spend all the time indoors? Why don’t we exploit our great outdoor weather? Ever lived through a winter?

One parsimonious solution is to build good roads and make it easy to visit the rural areas as our parks and open spaces. Have you noted the proliferation of mansions that rival Nairobi’s leafy suburbs in the rural areas? Park effect? Too expensive land in the city? Covid-19 effect? Devolution?

The visible hand of the market is unlikely to release precious land for parks and recreation areas. Lots of people ‘see’ plots and apartments in golf courses and parks. We still suffer from residual thinking that money is everything. It’s the visible hand of the government that can mute that thinking.

The government has not acted in the last 60 years. It’s time to make our lives whole, and more fulfilling with open spaces, parks and playgrounds. Such spaces are not just for the affluent, we all need breathing space. Let’s act now, tomorrow might be too late. Over to the counties and their governments.