Building on Green Spaces

A couple of weeks ago I met a friend I have known since we were small children. We do not see each other much nowadays but it is always pleasant to catch up and during the conversation, he made an interesting observation.

The field that we used to play football and cricket on as kids has now been built over, as has the one that we walked over to for Games Lessons in Junior School. The field that we played rugby on in Senior School is now a housing estate just like the area of meadowland where we (often reluctantly) ran cross country. Moving on to our Universities, he added that the tennis courts at his hall of residence are now just another accommodation block, as is the large green grassy area in front of mine.

The fewer green areas there are, the fewer kids play out. The fewer kids play out, the more parents obsess about their child being abducted and do not allow them out of sight. Cheap and simple objects such as bats and balls are then replaced by highly expensive consumer electronic devices. Widespread obesity and nervous, under confident adults are the inevitable result.