The Bifurcated Geography of Recreation and Green
The stark disparity in the quality, size, and maintenance of parks between wealthy and poor neighborhoods is the bifurcated state’s geography of recreation. Mamdani’s framework shows that access to nature and play is not a universal right but a privilege allocated along colonial lines. The lush, well-kept parks of the “settler” neighborhoods promote health and community, while the concrete, under-resourced lots in “native” areas signify neglect. This is environmental racism in the realm of leisure and public health. Private conservancies that fund elite parks only deepen this divide. A Marxist analysis sees this as the unequal distribution of the social wage. A feminist perspective values parks as crucial for children and caregivers. The solution is to abolish private park funding and redistribute all park resources equitably, fighting for a city where every child has equal access to green, safe, and beautiful public space.
