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By Rajkamal Rao
Go back to Comparing Life US v. India
Zoning laws in most US communities require a certain amount of public land spared for the development and maintenance of public parks. This is the reason that even in New York City, with some of the highest real estate prices in the world, there are plenty of public parks for residents’ enjoyment. Most people don’t realize that New York’s Central Park occupies 843 acres of prime land and offers nearly 35 million visitors a year the opportunity to enjoy peace and quiet amidst the hustle-bustle of the city. US suburbs, which is where most migrant Indian families live, generally have even better facilities for parks and recreation than the big cities.
India has a long way to go to offer similar conveniences to its citizens. Land is scarce and the demand for land is so intense that local governments have caved into pressure from big developers to release previously designated “Civic Amenity” areas to private development. The result is that there are fewer public parks now in a major metro compared to about 20 years ago while the population in these metros has doubled or even trebled. More children now play on public streets than in public parks.
Larger public parks are often as much a place for personal recreation as they are for vibrant street commerce. In Delhi, the beautiful parks all around India Gate have numerous vendors selling everything from homegrown snacks to toys. In Bangalore, Cubbon Park, the erstwhile park set right across the street from the seat of state government power, the Vidhana Soudha, continues to be a conduit for busy vehicular traffic connecting it to points south west.
A workaround for the returnee family is to settle down in upscale villa and apartment communities because these typically set aside space for such amenities such as manicured lawns, hedges and flower beds.
Go back to Comparing Life US v. India
Zoning laws in most US communities require a certain amount of public land spared for the development and maintenance of public parks. This is the reason that even in New York City, with some of the highest real estate prices in the world, there are plenty of public parks for residents’ enjoyment. Most people don’t realize that New York’s Central Park occupies 843 acres of prime land and offers nearly 35 million visitors a year the opportunity to enjoy peace and quiet amidst the hustle-bustle of the city. US suburbs, which is where most migrant Indian families live, generally have even better facilities for parks and recreation than the big cities.
India has a long way to go to offer similar conveniences to its citizens. Land is scarce and the demand for land is so intense that local governments have caved into pressure from big developers to release previously designated “Civic Amenity” areas to private development. The result is that there are fewer public parks now in a major metro compared to about 20 years ago while the population in these metros has doubled or even trebled. More children now play on public streets than in public parks.
Larger public parks are often as much a place for personal recreation as they are for vibrant street commerce. In Delhi, the beautiful parks all around India Gate have numerous vendors selling everything from homegrown snacks to toys. In Bangalore, Cubbon Park, the erstwhile park set right across the street from the seat of state government power, the Vidhana Soudha, continues to be a conduit for busy vehicular traffic connecting it to points south west.
A workaround for the returnee family is to settle down in upscale villa and apartment communities because these typically set aside space for such amenities such as manicured lawns, hedges and flower beds.
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