It’s usually a situation where the complainant agrees we need that building such as a prison, a recycling centre, a sewage treatment plant, an airport or a highway. All things we use (yes we all use prisons as part of our judicial system that we rely on), all things that a functional community needs, yet all things that we don’t want close to our homes.
The previous solution was to put these places close to poor neighbourhoods, as those residents’ voices and resources are not as strong as those in the streets with bigger trees.
The problem with this idea is that it compounds the deprivation of those areas, creating a poverty cycle that is hard to claw out of. People born in poorer neighbourhoods have so many more challenges than those of us born in Riverdale, Parkland or Summerhill.
Last month, some of the residents of South St, a beautiful residential street in West End characterised by gentrified bungalows and villas, signed a petition against Kāinga Ora building 10 two-storey, medium-density apartment blocks on their street. Their concerns were many, including invasion of privacy, lack of car parking, water runoff and loss of green space.
All valid concerns that need to be addressed and plans created to minimise the disruption to the residents’ lives. We have enough clever people in our city to come up with solutions to these very real issues.
I really hope so, as I know South St would be a wonderful place for a whānau to move upwards on their socio-economic journey. It’s within walking distance of great schools, supermarkets, Central Library, sports grounds, and swimming pools.
It may just be the one missing piece of the puzzle that helps a 12-year-old kid who has had a tough life make the right decision at the right time.
Dave Mollard is a Palmerston North community worker and social commentator.
