Whereas people need access to the trees and birds and wildlife for their wellbeing and mental health, to paraphrase a well-known Canadian author, "our brains are hot-wired to want places outdoors. There’s a reason people are more relaxed around trees than around concrete and glass and asphalt.
Whereas enormous metropolitan areas without a readily accessible public space outdoors became part of the pandemic problem. One takeaway from the shutdown is that our urban growth strategies need to factor in more green space. We need to start looking at ways to get more green space in our cities. People need to be able to go outside… They need more parks. This should be an essential service.”*
Now therefore, the City of Oshawa shall establish a consultative process during the process for urban design, secondary plans, infill developments and subdivision plans that gives strong consideration to the impact of COVID-19 and other future pandemics, and promotes larger parks and a move away from back-to-back stacked townhomes.
* Note the above-mentioned Canadian author is Adam Shoalts (he is also a renowned explorer, historian, archaeologist and geographer). In a recent interview he said
“what this quarantine has made abundantly clear is how severely our cities lack access to places where simply being outside among trees or birds or wildlife is even possible. It’s a straightforward equation. You have a number of residents, and you need a certain amount of park space. You need more park space in the city. If we’re going to expect people in this country to protect themselves against the spread of infection and continue to self-isolate long-term, and if we’re going to expect that they emerge on the other side with their health intact and their quality of life undiminished, they need better access to generous expanses of open nature. It’s the only way that solitude really works. This is at core a city-planning issue, and not something, Shoalts admits, that can be fixed overnight. But where people are concerned, nature trumps all.
The need for more greenspace in our communities has become a hot topic with COVID-19. Here is a link to another
Whereas enormous metropolitan areas without a readily accessible public space outdoors became part of the pandemic problem. One takeaway from the shutdown is that our urban growth strategies need to factor in more green space. We need to start looking at ways to get more green space in our cities. People need to be able to go outside… They need more parks. This should be an essential service.”*
Now therefore, the City of Oshawa shall establish a consultative process during the process for urban design, secondary plans, infill developments and subdivision plans that gives strong consideration to the impact of COVID-19 and other future pandemics, and promotes larger parks and a move away from back-to-back stacked townhomes.
* Note the above-mentioned Canadian author is Adam Shoalts (he is also a renowned explorer, historian, archaeologist and geographer). In a recent interview he said
“what this quarantine has made abundantly clear is how severely our cities lack access to places where simply being outside among trees or birds or wildlife is even possible. It’s a straightforward equation. You have a number of residents, and you need a certain amount of park space. You need more park space in the city. If we’re going to expect people in this country to protect themselves against the spread of infection and continue to self-isolate long-term, and if we’re going to expect that they emerge on the other side with their health intact and their quality of life undiminished, they need better access to generous expanses of open nature. It’s the only way that solitude really works. This is at core a city-planning issue, and not something, Shoalts admits, that can be fixed overnight. But where people are concerned, nature trumps all.
The need for more greenspace in our communities has become a hot topic with COVID-19. Here is a link to another