Tony, That's wonderful to hear - and I would assume the end result is a better park that gets more use. I disagree more so with the immense public expenditure on a park that I, at least, view as pretty darn nice, considering the state of most of this city. But yes, you are correct, if the money is going to get spent anyway, it's up to the neighborhood to get what it can. And no, the neighborhood shouldn't avoid solely out of fear of gentrification, but should be aware that there are people out there (in general) who intentionally or not push for changes.
Darco -----Original Message----- From: owner-univc...@list.purple.com [mailto:owner-univc...@list.purple.com] On Behalf Of Anthony West Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2010 3:21 PM To: UnivCity listserv Subject: Re: [UC] Clark Park: Power and secrecy was the goal, UCR A half-hour ago, on a cool, gray fall afternoon, I observed 15 inner-city kids playing on the new basketball court, 12 kids playing on the new older-kids playground, 6 kids playing on the new totlot -- all fruits of the Clark Park Revitalization Plan. Different people hold different priorities, but in general, I don't think it's wasteful to direct a little public investment toward inner-city kids every 40 years or so. I never ask strange children if they are gentry or not, but I also saw no evidence today that certain people have, in fact, been pushed out of the park, just because it's been improved. My friends in the Woodland Avenue Reunion like the way the park has been upgraded. A better park attracts people from all over West Philadelphia, every day. Completely "ungentrified" West Philadelphia neighborhoods, like those around Clara Muhammad Park and Carroll Park, have also lobbied successfully for public investments in these public spaces in recent years. Should our neighborhood avoid doing likewise, solely out of fear of committing gentrification? -- Tony West > Lalevic, Darco wrote: >> I disagree with the entire Clark Park revitalization plan. I think >> it's wasteful at the least, and at worse, part of an effort to "clean >> up" the park to make it more appealing to the gentrification of the >> neighborhood and push certain people out. > ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
