Dubai
I would like to address a major hurdle to developing an active outdoor lifestyle — a lack of community parks and open spaces in a number of neighbourhoods around Dubai.
Parents want their children to grow up into healthy and sociable adults. However, many children are getting addicted to gadgets and digital screens, and are confined indoors. This not only impacts their health and physical development, but is also increasingly recognised as a major cause of declining social skills.
A residential cluster located in Bur Dubai, known as Golden Sands, has more than 100 residential buildings. But, there is not a single garden or park in the community. It is very common to see children playing between cars in parking lots and on the pavements.
Though there are some open spaces visible as one moves around the neighbourhood, these are sand plots, possibly awaiting construction. Some others have been recently converted to parking spaces. Additionally, the movement of heavy machinery and construction equipment has made the area only more susceptible to unwanted incidents and adds to the concern of parents who are hesitant to let their children out of their sight.
Children are advised to stay off the roads with their bicycles, often limiting their movement to the pavements and the basement parking lots of some buildings. Despite this, at times, few children are seen playing on the roads, which puts them at risk. Even adults who walk and jog along the pavements in the early hours and late evenings, run across uneven surfaces and dodge traffic.
Yana Mirpuri, a homemaker and mother of two children based in the area, agrees that a park in the area would be beneficial.
She said: “Taking your children to the park, breathing some fresh air and getting some sunlight, especially in the mornings, is necessary. Engaging in some physical activity in a space free from pollution can have a tremendous effect on our children’s bodies. A park nearby will provide the necessary safety, security and increased productivity and good health.”
Karan Bhagchandani, a pupil based in the area, is unhappy that there isn’t even a small playground located at walking distance. Though he loves to play, he has to wait for his parents to come home and drive him to the nearby park.
He said: “After school, I can only enjoy myself in the busy car park. The motorists scold us for running around the area and mums scream at us to be careful. Playing on the roads or in car parks is neither fun, nor safe.”
A conservative estimate of the number of children living in this area would be well over 5,000, evidenced by the number of school buses that move in and out of this area each morning. Unfortunately, once the children are back from school, there is very little they can step out for.
The relevant authorities need to provide the requisite infrastructure at the local community level. Children should play in safe areas that are surrounded by a fence and located away from roads. Knowing that such facilities are available in the neighbourhood will also ease the anxiety that parents feel in restricting their children’s movement out of concern for their safety. Additionally, it would help in controlling obesity rates, which are rapidly increasing due to sedentary lifestyles.
— The reader is a pupil based in Dubai.
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Editor’s note: The reader’s concerns were raised with the management of Dubai Municipality. However, despite repeated reminders, they did not respond.
