Donate today to create beloved public places that help us connect with nature and with each other.
DonatePublished on October 17, 2024 by Ethan Rotberg, Senior Communications Specialist, Evergreen
Is your world more browser tabs than boardwalks? More pixels than parks? More memes than markets?
It’s easy to forget how valuable physical public spaces are in a world where we spend so much time online. And to be fair, online spaces aren’t all bad — during COVID, virtual public spaces brought people together in creative ways. Zoom calls with friends, virtual concerts and online communities helped us feel less isolated when the world felt shut down.
But physical public spaces are gamechangers. They bring people together, foster community, support the environment and improve wellbeing all at once.
Whether it’s a park, a community garden, a public square or our home base at Evergreen Brick Works, these spaces offer something screens never can: the genuine feeling of being together with others in the real world.
So, while we’re not saying you need to completely ditch your Reddit, Instagram and Twitch accounts, here are five reasons we love physical public spaces more than online spaces.
There’s nothing like a well-placed emoji to show you care. But even a staunch emoji-defender must admit that they can only go so far in expressing emotion. Until the moment they invent a way to literally give a friend a hug through a screen (🤔🤗), real life face time will always be unmatched.
Public spaces let you engage in actual human interaction (even if they’re just micro-connections), the kind where body language, facial expressions and tone of voice all matter. These things are hard to replicate in a text thread or video call. Besides, when’s the last time you had to wait for your friend to buffer during a walk in the park?
It’s pretty easy for children to get swept up in a world of technology and indoor activities — spending three times as many hours on screens as outside. It doesn’t help that toy unboxing videos have become one of the most popular sensations on YouTube.
But being outside and playing with others is crucial for a child’s health, wellbeing and development. Children need to reconnect with nature, with places that spark a lifelong love for the natural world and bring them into step with the rhythms of the seasons. Public spaces give them the freedom to explore, get dirty, play with others, take risks and use their imagination — beyond even what Roblox and Fortnite can ignite.
Picture a group of friends huddled around the television watching endless videos of cats doing strange cat things, cable news bloopers or the latest viral dance. It doesn’t take much effort to imagine this — it’s a scene most of us know all too well.
But, while spending hours lost in YouTube rabbit holes can be entertaining, nothing compares to the adventure of exploring a new park or stumbling upon a cool public art installation.
These real-world adventures help engage all your senses and allow for the kind of real surprises that content algorithms wouldn’t dare show you. You might even find a real, genuine rabbit hole.
Do you feel a little rush of dopamine whenever you get a new social media notification? Wait until you hear about the natural high that comes from spending time outdoors!
Refreshing your feed can provide a momentary spark, but it can also sometimes drain your battery. In contrast, physical public spaces offer a genuine sense of renewal. Engaging with nature — whether it’s enjoying a hike in the ravines, a bike ride on an urban path or just having a picnic with friends — has a profound impact. In a previous story, our readers even shared tales about how public spaces in their neighbourhood so greatly and positively impact their health.
Time spent in nature lowers stress levels, improves mood and boosts overall wellbeing, providing a refreshing experience that scrolling could never match. We wouldn’t even blame you if you stopped reading this story here and rushed outdoors to enjoy the fresh air.
If you’re still here instead of playing outside, here’s a final reason: the environmental toll of all your digital activity. But let’s not focus on the horrors of your group chat’s impact on the environment (unless, of course, your WhatsApp group is running a fast fashion company or extracting fossil fuels).
Instead, let’s focus on how real physical public spaces help us tackle the climate crisis. The fallout from extreme weather and natural disasters is already being felt in everyday urban life. But public places can provide protection from extreme heat, resilience to flooding, improved air quality and a vision of how other spaces can be designed.
Beyond that, they help us nurture a more sustainable lifestyle, with walkable neighbourhoods, public markets, climate-ready school grounds and more.
