In praise of our parks & green spaces during the pandemic

Cllr Brian Smyth is the Green Party Councillor on Belfast City Council

I’ve developed a whole new level of appreciation of our public parks during this pandemic. I’ve been up to Cregagh Glen a few times during the last number of weeks and it brought me the head space I hadn’t realised I needed.

I grew up in a block of flats with my mum and space, never mind head space, was in short supply. No garden, not much green space around the flats and cars roaring up and down the M2 motorway was the view from our balcony.

I have lived through the tower block blues – lack of space and light, poor insulation for heat and sound. That’s why I’m concerned about families living in cramped housing conditions during this crisis.

Children are unable to go to school and enjoy the freedom of the playground or playing fields at present. Cramped conditions feel even tighter with everyone at home all of the time. Lack of storage space can create claustrophobia in a world where we’re conditioned to buy and accumulate more and more.

There can be no doubt that our planning system has allowed developers to maximise profit by minimising space. If you’re fortunate enough to live in comfortable conditions with a private garden, lockdown life may be bearable, but it’s a different story for families living in cramped conditions.

Parks and urban green spaces aren’t a trade off for poor housing but they have provided a place of sanctuary for many people during this pandemic. Academic studies show the relationship between access to parks and urban green spaces and higher levels of wellbeing.

Belfast has some of the best parks in the whole of these islands and it’s down to the hard work of the parks staff all year round.

Belvoir Park Forest is the only functioning forest within a city in the UK. The best views of Belfast are the reward for walking to the top of Cavehill. While, you can bring a ball for a kick about in Creagh Green in Castlereagh and follow in the footsteps of a boyhood George Best.

It’s estimated that parks and urban green spaces save Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trusts around £3m per year based solely on a reduction in GP visits.

The well-being value associated with the frequent use of local parks and green spaces is worth £920 million per year to the Northern Ireland adult population.

Furthermore, trees and green spaces are also important in improving air quality and provide drainage when they are used as “green infrastructure”.

So, let’s appreciate our parks and urban green spaces, value them and protect them for future generations. We’re not in this crisis together, but for a moment as we meet each other in the park and nod politely, maintaining social distance, it feels as if we are!