Now that's more like it!

Chirimoya

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Sr. Pe?alosa, I like what you have to say.

DR1 news said:
Enrique Penalosa, award-winning former mayor of Bogota and candidate to the presidency in Colombia, stated: "With what one kilometer of metro costs, we could make many parks for all the barrios of Santo Domingo," he sentenced calling the plan for the metro an "imprudence."
He said that the TransMilenio system in Bogota that cost US$250 million to build today serves 800,000 compared to the 320,000 users of the US$3.3 billion metro that Medellin chose to build. He said that the big difference is that metro will always need to be subsidized. He urged the Dominican government think the project over "very carefully".
Penalosa was also very critical of the second Fernandez government mega project for the city ? the island to be built by private investors in front of the Malecon. He said that he sees the Malecon as gold in powder, when Dominicans are seeing it as a puddle. He said that "everyone is fascinated by water," and urged instead that the sea-bordering Malecon be turned into a 7 km pedestrian way that would increase its value.
He said that water-fronting areas are magic places and specifically stated that these "should never be privatized for luxury hotels."
"I think it is dangerous to be discussing that island, when it would deteriorate quality of life for the residents and the quality of the view," he said. He highlighted that there is even the risk that it would dry up the waters. He stressed that a better solution is to turn the Malecon into a walkway and improve the front.
He was also very critical of the highways that have been built in front of the sea showing slides of the Las Americas Expressway as a major mistake, at a time when world around countries are giving new value to their waterfronts

- and this is even better:

DR1 news said:
The first guest speaker invited by the City of Santo Domingo to its Santo Domingo 2015 Congress, Enrique Penalosa turned his talk into an ode for turning Santo Domingo into a walking city with parks and public spaces.
"While today it is normal to give preference to cars in a city, in the future we will see this as a savage phase of civilization," he told his audience.
He urged the construction of bicycle routes, saying that wealthy cities such as Copenhagen and Zurich had these. He said that the bicycle is a symbol of human dignity and democracy because for a price of US$20 a resident can buy one and is then equaled to the person who buys a US$50,000 vehicle. He commented that in Bogota they built 350 kms of bicycle routes that today mobilize more people than the metro of Medellin.
Enrique Penalosa was emphatic that cities need to go back to the days when they were walking cities. He highlighted that cities need to decide where they are going to give preference to people or cars. He said this is not a matter of money, arguing that when Central Park was built in New York, that city was poorer than Santo Domingo. He said that cities have responsibilities even with those that are not yet born, and should be planned for the long term.
He said the construction of parks can reduce crime and commented how works in Bogota to create public spaces reduced crime from 87 per 100,000 to 24 per 100,000 people, without having to add new jails and police. He explained this is so because the potential delinquents are spending time in the parks with their children, not in bars drinking.
He mentioned that during his administration as mayor, Bogota built 35 kms of lineal parks.
"If we want tourists to come to Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo needs to have sidewalks that are three times what they are today," he urged asking if the city wanted to be a New York or a Houston? He then mentioned that people who visit Disney only spend 3% of their time at the attractions, and 97% in the public spaces and walkways, stressing its success was in its walkways.
Penalosa urged Mayor Salcedo not to fear businessmen who would protest the conversion of streets into pedestrian malls, saying that in the medium term they would be thankful when business picked up.
"Sidewalks are cousins to parks, not to highways," he stressed, adding that overpasses demote the value of avenues, and are futile because they become congestioned after only five or ten years. This is the case of the overpasses built on the 27 of Febrero and John F. Kennedy Avenue during the 1996-2000 presidency of Fernandez by today's Metro Minister Diandino Pena.
Penalosa said that builders need to factor in underground parking so as not to rob the city of sidewalk space and showed several slides in his presentation where cars had engulfed sidewalk areas in Santo Domingo.
"Humans have the right to mobilize in the city without getting killed," he stressed.
"A civilized city is not the one that has more cars, but the one where children on tricycles can get around," he concluded.

If I'd been there, I'd have stood up and cheered!

Keith and others, what are your thoughts?
 

snowqueen

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Chirimoya, I agree 100%. This man has much foresight and I think many other countries could benefit from his advice. Although I must say my opinion of Santo Domingo is based on a visit back in '92. That was enough for me, I haven't wanted to return. However, if they were to implement such a plan, I would be eager to visit and see the difference.
 

stewart

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I for one am really in to cycling. And I love what he has to say. That would make for a great city. But I also have to admit that I think this guy sounds a little idealistic with utopian fantasies.
 

Chirimoya

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To some extent he is comparing apples to oranges. Conditions for cycling in steamy SD are not quite the same as in spring-like Bogota. Then again, Bogota is hilly and at a high altitude, while SD is mostly flat.

In any case, he is basing his comments on real-life tangible experiences, so I would not dismiss them as fantasies. These are the real solutions of the future.
 

stewart

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I agree that every city should be more bike friendly. I spent 2 years on a bike in Santiago, La Vega and many other towns. To me, it was the best way to get around. Even when I had a car, I preferred the use of my bike.
I just think it is a difficult sell to expect a large portion of the population of SD to suddenly start riding bikes. It has worked in many cities in Europe. But Europe loves bikes to begin with. THe idea has failed miserably in many American cities.
But don't say I am just dismissing his ideas as fantasies. I am 100% behind him. Just skeptical that it will work on a large scale.
 

Dolores1

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Notes on Pe?alosa's talk

Chirimoya said:
If I'd been there, I'd have stood up and cheered!

Chiri,

I was there and clapped for all of us.

Here are other of my notes on what Pe?alosa said. Enjoy!

Notes from the Enrique Pe?alosa talk as part of the Congress of Santo Domingo 2015. Thursday, 17 March.


Enrique Pe?alosa is candidate for President of Colombia, former mayor, and president of the Fundacion por el Pais que Queremos in Colombia.

In his opening words, he said that cities and its residents have to first decide what kind of city they want.

He pointed out, citizens had to decide if they wanted to become a Houston or Amsterdam.

He pointed out the disadvantage in Latin America of using Miami as a benchmark because it was so near, and the disadvantage of being far away from European cities which were going the other way around.

He stated: a city is a way for a way of living.

He asked, in an ideal city ? how wide is the sidewalk?

We have to have a clear idea of the city.

He said that programs like Animal Planet and Discovery have given us an idea of the environment for animals, but we have to decide what kind of environment we want for humans.

Public spaces are our spaces.

Miami is a model of what a city should not be.

Copenhagen and Amstersdam are more human, more wealthy cities.

One does not need cars nor highways for a wealthy city.

40% of the population there moves in bicycles or on foot.

A city of quality is friendly to its children, senior citizens and handicapped, gives them freedom to move about.

A sick city is one where its citizens have to go to malls. When malls replace public spaces, then the city is sick.

Cities with quality of life are those where the stores are not in malls, they are on the public space.

He explained that people give the excuse that it is too hot, and that air conditioning is needed, therefore, we should build malls like in Miami.
But he said that Rome and New York are hotter cities and the shopping centers are on public spaces.

He was very critical of shopping centers that did not have windows, comparing them to Las Vegas where people inside were served breakfast at 10 pm (to keep them gambling) and they would not have a way of knowing what time it was because there were no windows.

He called this cultural auto-imposed imperialism. And urged the DR not to copy from the errors of advanced nations.

He said that malls were anti-democratic because they sought to keep the poor outside their walls.

He said that on the contrary, trees and being able to see the skies foster social integration and bring enhanced security.

He said that cars have become the wolf that scared children yesterday. He said that cars have killed 600,000 children worldwide, despite it being toted as the maximum achievement of civilization. Children grow up fearing cars ? the car is the wolf. The child can be eaten up by the car.

Democracy is much more than going to vote.
Democracy means that the general interest needs to prevail before the particular interest. But is this but poetry?

He spoke of cities like Zurich and New York where 90% of the people do not have a car. But here in America, the more cars we have, supposedly the better off we are. Or are we?

He spoke of the system of private property, and explained that while when planting tomatoes the more demand there are the more tomatoes will be planted, this does not apply to real estate in cities. He says that the scarcity of property just makes those who have property rich without having to work.

But he says that quality of life with dignity is contingent on cities having kept public spaces like parks.

Pe?alosa was very critical of the metro.
With what one kilometer of metro costs, we could make many parks for all the barrios of Santo Domingo, he sentenced.

He commented on the importance of community involvement in the urban renewal of their community so that there be a feeling of belonging. He spoke of multiple community programs whereby US$30,000 was invested to turn the communities into livable spaces for the children.

He also stressed that the idea is not only to fix what there is, but also to avoid future errors.

He said that urban reform, the state should implement, and that it is more important than agrarian reform. He urged that the state acquire large blocks of city land for parks, either by purchasing these or expropriating these (a la buena o a la mala).

He spoke of the case of Sweden, where since 1904 the government has been purchasing land around the city.

People need more than to eat and have a roof, he said. He spoke of greater needs, such as being able to walk freely to be happy.

He said that while it is true that people can live enclosed in an apartment, but people are happier with 10-meter wide sidewalks, not two meter sidewalks, such as those in Santo Domingo.

A lot that leads to quality of a city is not measurable, he explained. It is felt in the heart. Such things as buildings with three or four floors max. People need to be with people, he stressed over and over.

He said that as evidence the benches in parks that are most used are those that are transited by a lot of people, where people pass buy, not the ones that are isolated.

He urged Dominicans to read Danish urban architect Jan Gehl, who has written amply about using outdoor public space in cities. He explained that people will use public space when there is quality in that public space. When they can ride a bicycle, when there is infrastructure for walking.

He said that success of a park is in how many people use it and spend time there.

He said that Danish people would go nuts with the natural resources that Santo Domingo has. There everyone would be on the streets.

He recommended that street signs be imbedded into the buildings. That the city needs to set norms and have them fulfilled.

He spoke up for public libraries, that these be the cathedrals of the new times for spending time.

He said that only since the past 80 years have cities stopped being walking cities to give preference to automobiles.
?What today appears to be normal to give preference to cars in the future we will see as a savage stage of civilization,? he told his audience.

Pe?alosa was emphatic that cities need to be walking cities.

He spoke of respect for humans can be seen in cities in China, Copenhagen, Rome, Santiago de Chile. He said that cities in Europe are becoming walking cities, while we are too close to Miami and learning from that city.

He praised walking cities and bicycle routes, with cables for services underground.

He called pedestrian ways are monuments to the human being, that change the way people live and raise the self-esteem of residents. Socially, he says the importance is that what one does in one?s free time is what sets the difference between a poor and a rich person. He says at work all share the same space. But in his time off a rich man returns to a large house, goes to restaurants, clubs, has space. The poor lives in reduced space house, and their children are limited to watching TV.

Public spaces are not a luxury, they are minimum that a democracy can offer to citizens.

Having access to green areas will be the grand separator of social classes or challenge is to make it the great social integrator.

He said this will be the most critical issue of social equality in the long term.

He mentioned that public spaces need to be so wonderful that the wealthy and the poor come together, such as happens in Central Park in New York.

He spoke with envy about the Caribbean Sea Dominicans can enjoy, but do not value.

He said that having a park is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

And said that no child should have to grow up farther than two blocks from a park.

What makes a city memorable to tourists is its public spaces.

He addressed public vendors, and said that supporting them in name of creating jobs does not solve unemployment, that is a great populist lie.

He says that it only deteriorates the situation, but the vendors when disrupted go to TV to complain, while citizens when they lose their public spaces do not.

Let us not fool ourselves and not tolerate these vendors.

Every lot that is saved, is saved, while every lot that is built is gone forever.

Streets are not a medium, parks are a medium in themselves.

He said that no one will be remembered for a street because eventually it will be congestioned and full of traffic jams, and people will regard it with indifference. Contrary to parks that are a continuous source of pleasure, and are magic

He said that maintenance money has to be factored in and said that in Bogota they did so adding a charge to the garbage collection fees.

He commented that when Central Park was made, that city was poorer than Santo Domingo. He said that city has a responsibility with those that are not born.

He said parks can reduce crime and commented how works in Bogota to create public spaces reduced crime from 87/100,000 to 24/100,000 people, without adding new jails and police. Because the potential delinquents are in the parks with their children, not in bars drinking.

He addressed waterfront calling it magic places. He urged that never these be privatized for luxury hotels.

He mentioned that during his administration as mayor, Bogota built 35 kms of lineal parks. He said that he sees the Malecon as gold in powder form, when Dominicans are see it as a puddle.

He commented that the World Bank orders environmental impact studies, but forgets to order human impact studies. He said when building a drainage canal, a pedestrian way should be built beside it with a wide sidewalk.

He said that continuously cities around the world are discovering how wrong they were to build ways for cars alongside waterfront, and are closing these, as happening in Paris where they are placing sand on the sidewalks to create beaches. He said that Boston has invested US$23 billion to tumble down overpasses, contrary to cities like Portland, Oregon where preference has been given to walkways in front of waterfront.

He urged the turning of the Malecon into a 7 km pedestrian way. Everyone is fascinated by water.

?I think it is dangerous to be discussing that island, when it would deteriorate quality of life and the quality of the view,? he said. He highlighted there is even the risk that it would dry up the waters. He said a better solution is to turn the Malecon into a walkway and improve the front.

He was very critical of the highways that have been built in front of the sea showing slides of the Las Americas Expressway as a major mistake, especially since the world around people have become aware of this.

He called the Americas expressway an invaluable asset that should be made into a walkway and that investors could be found to build an avenue in the space in the back. He called for creation of walkways.

He said that reading any 20 travel magazines, one will not find photos of cars as attractions. Tourism is walking. Cars bring stress and tension.

If we want tourists to come to Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo needs to have sidewalks that are three times what they are today.

He asked if we want a New York or a Houston?

He commented on Disney World, where he said only 3% of people?s time is spent in the attractions. Disney is a pedestrian world.

He highlighted that there is a conflict for a city that has to decide to give preference to people or cars.

Called cars destroyers of cities. Said that right to parking is not in any Constitution in any country. And said that city governments cannot fear turning areas into pedestrian areas. That at first business will scream, but later they will appreciate the business.

Sidewalks need to be cousins to parks, not to highways.

He said that overpasses demote the value of streets, and will become congestioned anyway after five or ten years.
 
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Dolores1

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stewart said:
I for one am really in to cycling. And I love what he has to say. That would make for a great city. But I also have to admit that I think this guy sounds a little idealistic with utopian fantasies.

Cycling is realistic. Lots of cities where there is quality of life have proven this.

Today people who commute to get to work or wherever in Santo Domingo spend more time sitting in a traffic jam than they would peddling to work, regardless of the distance.

I buy this man's words and he is not talking fantasies -- he put them to work in Bogota, of all cities.

I live in a central affluent part of town and would never dream of letting my son ride a bicycle. That is a big loss.

This is a sick city, where people have to go walk in malls and children can forget about bicycling in neighborhoods.

Will anyone listen to Pe?alosa? I was surprised that he even was invited.

Maybe they didn't know he thought that way.

Anyway, anyone interested in city trends should not miss the two talks scheduled for the congress tomorrow morning as of 8 am (may start at 8:30 am) at the Hotel Melia. Interesting to hear what Jordi Broja (a guru of Barcelona city) and Alfonso Vegara, another Spanish urban renewal expert, will say.
 

Keith R

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I was used to cycling alot in the Washington area, even in our hot, muggy summers, so when I moved to SD in late 1995, took my bike with enthusiasm, figuring I could use it to get across town alot. Tried to do so a few times early on after moving in, but quickly abandoned the idea. Not only was the traffic dangerous (can't count the number of times I was nearly clipped), if not outright hostile, to my presence, but the conditions of the streets and sidewalks made it very difficult to go very far without having to jump off and walk it around holes, obstacles, etc. From then on, I restricted my bicycling to Mirador Sur during the hours when it was closed to car traffic....

SD could be made a bike-friendly city. Rio de Janeiro -- whose weather is every bit as hot as SD's -- has done it. Among other things, they set up bike lanes, especially along the beach, that have added much to the city. However, for SD to do likewise -- like so much else possible to make SD more liveable and attractive, most of it not necessitating great expense -- requires political vision, will and commitment to make it a reality. Do the mayors of the various Santo Domingo's have it? And can the national politicians resist the urge to rip up SD streets for a metro that makes zero sense in Dominican realities, and instead provide a fraction of that money instead to make SD an attractive, less auto-clogged, more walking- & biking-friendly, more liveable city? I will never say never, but I have my serious doubts...

Regards,
Keith
 

ALB3

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Dolores said:
Anyone interested in reading about walkable cities as a tourist enhancer, see http://www.travelwirenews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000033/003350.htm

Just got this in my email box today.

With us baby boomers turning 50+ it is something to really look to becoming.

Thanks for the link. My corporate office is in Arlington and everyone walks everywhere. My company issues pedometers to whomever wants to participate and whoever has the most steps taken in a month gets a gift certificate.

I can relate to Keith's experience riding his bike in SD. I would love to ride a bike around SD but that traffic scares me to death. It is a shame that many kids can't ride a bike in SD due to the traffic situation. I remember during my youth my bike was almost my best friend.

Hopefully the local and national leaders in the DR will heed this great and FREE advice.
 

Chirimoya

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It does sound like an impossible dream, but as Nals would say, there are times when you have to be an optimist and hope against hope.

Thanks Dolores, for the inside info. Also Keith, for the Rio example and the account of cycling in Santo Domingo. I'm happy to hear you did not become a martyr to the cause as a result. ;)

This may sound unbelievable, but just after reading the DR1 news yesterday and posting about it in this thread, I happened to be talking to a visiting colleague who is originally from Colombia. I mentioned Pe?alosa and his speech, and it turns out she used to work on that very team.

She said that it was an incredible process, lasting 15 years, and that nurturing belief and pride in the city was the first stage. Now that they have achieved the goals of making the city more pedestrian friendly, the next target for the current mayor is poverty. She commented that the success of the anti-poverty campaign has built on the work done by Pe?alosa and others who have transformed Bogota.

I never owned a car until I came to Santo Domingo. Everywhere else I've lived has had alternatives like decent public transport, cycling and walking as a real option for getting to work, shopping and socialising.

The day I can get rid of my car and go back to being a satisfied pedestrian will be one of the happiest in my life.

Power to Pe?alosa and others with his vision!
 

MaineGirl

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This thread is fascinating to me. I want to live in a city where green spaces, gardens, libraries, waterfront, walking and cycling shape the human culture. I loved reading the notes on his speech. I am looking for the best city to live in for my needs and wants. If this dream became reality....
 

stewart

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MaineGirl said:
This thread is fascinating to me. I want to live in a city where green spaces, gardens, libraries, waterfront, walking and cycling shape the human culture. I loved reading the notes on his speech. I am looking for the best city to live in for my needs and wants. If this dream became reality....

But we all know what is going to happen. This regime is going to say "that's nice. Now lets build some elevados and a light rail system. And maybe we can put some more phone poles in the middle of the broken sidewalk while we're at it".
 

snoozer

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Jan 22, 2004
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This is a refreshing thread, optimism for the RD and its future potential.

As an observation, I spent over 6 weeks in Santo Domingo last year and a return visit for 2 days a few weeks ago. I noticed a considerable improvement in the city especially the area around the Jaragua to the Zona Colonial. Less man size holes in the side walk on Inpendencia, no sign of old cars and I even saw a 3 person crew picking up garbage. Have other people noticed these improvements?
 

NALs

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stewart said:
But we all know what is going to happen. This regime is going to say "that's nice. Now lets build some elevados and a light rail system. And maybe we can put some more phone poles in the middle of the broken sidewalk while we're at it".
I can see some people are learning Politics "a lo Dominicano". :classic:
 

NALs

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snoozer said:
This is a refreshing thread, optimism for the RD and its future potential.

As an observation, I spent over 6 weeks in Santo Domingo last year and a return visit for 2 days a few weeks ago. I noticed a considerable improvement in the city especially the area around the Jaragua to the Zona Colonial. Less man size holes in the side walk on Inpendencia, no sign of old cars and I even saw a 3 person crew picking up garbage. Have other people noticed these improvements?
I've noticed somewhat. Then again, I'm not looking out for these types of things. I got other stuff to worry about right now.

All I know is that with Leonel, things get's done. Whether that particular thing is controversial or not, it will get done.

With Hipolito, the only thing that was done was a complete undoing of every step this country took forward during the last decade.

Anyhow, I think Santo Domingo is great. It could be better, making it a walking metropolis may not be the best thing. Sure, it would be wonderful if all the avenues could be like Avenida de la Salud in Mirador del Sur with greenery on both sides and buildings behind that green cushion, but that is unrealistic for the rest of the city.

Brasilia was an attempt at re-inventing a new urban model and that city still puts emphasis on the automobile.

I agree with his comments on the metro,but I disagree with his comments on the island. The island will not be exclusive or a members only area, it will be open to the public. An open air plaza area with shops and cafe's will be created and the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Park will be expanded into the sea. The current malecon will get a beach with the water inbetween the island and the current malecon being cleaned. The new malecon will be on the island facing the Caribbean and emphazising a walkable-tree loving-city type of place.

Here you can see the zoning plans...
http://www.novomundoxxi.com/home/map2.swf

Also, his notion of more parks. Yes, having more small parks would greatly enhance the image of the city from end to end, but the city is not in NEED for more parks. The Mirador del Sur, the Mirador del Norte, and the Mirador del Este are still large urban lungs that allow people to flee the city and experience some nature without actually leaving the city.
 
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Chirimoya

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Nal0whs said:
Also, his notion of more parks. Yes, having more small parks would greatly enhance the image of the city from end to end, but the city is not in NEED for more parks. The Mirador del Sur, the Mirador del Norte, and the Mirador del Este are still large urban lungs that allow people to flee the city and experience some nature without actually leaving the city.

How can you say that the city doesn't need more parks? That's one simple thing that even the 'good' areas lack, with the exception of the areas bordering Mirador Sur. Gazcue? No parks. Arroyo Hondo? Only if you go in the Botanic Gardens, and then you can't cycle there and there are no children's play areas. It is one of the basics for a decent quality of life in an urban area which this city sadly lacks.

In practically all other world-class cities, each residential neighbourhood has its small park, with at the very least a children's playground and some greenery for all to enjoy. I greatly resent having to drive across the city to reach a decent green area, as I used to have to do when my son was younger. Or - you have to pay through the nose to become a member of a private playground (of which there are at least a couple near where we live) or a social club. Far from democratic.

Pe?alosa said that no-one should have to walk more than two blocks to their local park and I heartily agree.
 

NALs

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How can you say that the city doesn't need more parks? That's one simple thing that even the 'good' areas lack, with the exception of the areas bordering Mirador Sur. Gazcue? No parks. Arroyo Hondo? Only if you go in the Botanic Gardens, and then you can't cycle there and there are no children's play areas. It is one of the basics for a decent quality of life in an urban area which this city sadly lacks.
I said we don't need extra parks, because we really don't need extra parks. If you want some peace and quiet, there are plenty of large open spaces in our large parks for every urban citizen to enjoy. Any Santo Domingan who wants to go to a park can go at will (it might take a hike across a couple of city blocks, but the parks are there). Unlike many other metropolises in developing countries that lack enough open space for its citizens, Santo Domingo has enough park space, except that its not evenly distributed across the city, but the park space is heavily concentrated in a few spots resulting in three large urban parks, one of the largest and beautiful botanical gardens anywhere, an impressive and airy zoo, etc.

Needing more parks is different from wanting more parks. The city does not needs more park space, but if people want smaller park areas in each neighborhood, then that is different from needing more parks, because people want the convenience of a close by park, not necesarily that they want more park space because we don't have enough.

Hopefully you see what I am saying.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for small parks in every neighborhood, it would sure enhance the cityscape. However, there is a distinction between a city that lacks small parks in every neighborhood and a city that simply lacks park space!

In practically all other world-class cities, each residential neighbourhood has its small park, with at the very least a children's playground and some greenery for all to enjoy. I greatly resent having to drive across the city to reach a decent green area, as I used to have to do when my son was younger. Or - you have to pay through the nose to become a member of a private playground (of which there are at least a couple near where we live) or a social club. Far from democratic.
In a perfect democratic state, you would have to share your space with a person whose intention in life is to destroy yours.

How comfortable can anyone feel under such circumstances?
 

gringito

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Then Why?

Chirimoya said:
How can you say that the city doesn't need more parks? That's one simple thing that even the 'good' areas lack, with the exception of the areas bordering Mirador Sur. Gazcue? No parks. Arroyo Hondo? Only if you go in the Botanic Gardens, and then you can't cycle there and there are no children's play areas. It is one of the basics for a decent quality of life in an urban area which this city sadly lacks.

In practically all other world-class cities, each residential neighbourhood has its small park, with at the very least a children's playground and some greenery for all to enjoy. I greatly resent having to drive across the city to reach a decent green area, as I used to have to do when my son was younger. Or - you have to pay through the nose to become a member of a private playground (of which there are at least a couple near where we live) or a social club. Far from democratic.

Pe?alosa said that no-one should have to walk more than two blocks to their local park and I heartily agree.

If the Bogota that Penalosa "created" is so wonderful, then why is he living in New York instead of Bogota? I love Bogota and spend a lot of my time there and it is a wonderful city but that has little to do with Penalosa and more to do with the climate and the people.

Regards