Pocket parks and deep pockets of greed

As the climate crisis worsens and our country finds itself on the frontline, we need to look at what we are doing – as a state and as citizens – to change our behavior, to limit the damage we are causing the environment and to adapt to the consequences of our failure. Recently, listening to an expert on how cities need to adapt to deal with climate change, I was impressed by how much he praised “pocket parks,” which are being established in many cities around the world. Studies have shown that even such small interventions can have a noticeable impact on an area’s microclimate.

Large, densely populated areas of Athens need greenery, but we often think of an ideal but unattainable goal – the razing of contiguous city squares to create parks. Pocket parks, on the other hand, need very little space, as even an abandoned lot will do.

Their cost is not prohibitive, nor does it take decades to complete the necessary procedures. The City of Athens adopted the idea and, since 2020, dozens of pocket parks have sprung up, often with the assistance of private funding, in highly congested parts of the city.

The construction companies tear up everything; they dig deep underground, they try to exceed height limits, at the expense of others around them

Pocket parks provide high returns with minimal effort and low cost. They are achievable when there is a desire to do something for the collective good. What happens, though, when we place personal, short-term gains above all else? Then we land up with the construction frenzy which we see in neighborhoods and suburbs where houses and gardens are being swallowed up by apartment blocks, as if we have not seen the damage that this caused in the past, as if there is no climate crisis.

Every day, small parks – the old gardens of houses – disappear. These adjacent back yards used to be the heart of every block, providing tranquility to all around and cooling the air. The construction companies tear up everything; they dig deep underground, they try to exceed height limits, at the expense of others around them. Where there were gardens there is nothing but concrete. Afterwards, a couple of lonely trees will be placed in some imported soil.

These apartment blocks are advertised as “environmentally friendly” because they consume less energy for heat and cooling. Yet few seem to care about their impact on the area’s climate, the temperature, the flow of wind and water. The contractors and the mayors of these regions are pleased by the increase in the number of residents, and the subsequent rise in municipal revenues.

They are not disturbed by details such as the fact that in suburbs like Holargos there is already no place for residents to park their cars, nor for them to walk, as even the sidewalks are occupied by vehicles. They do not seem to care about this, nor by climate change. The pockets of the greedy always win at the expense of the whole.