Jaevion Nelson | Recreation and leisure must be a priority

We urgently need to have a conversation about leisure and recreation. There is a lot of talk about the accessibility of our beaches, but the discussion must be much more than sand, sea, and sun. It should be the norm that communities and town centres have diverse, accessible, and affordable spaces for leisure and recreation for people of all ages, incomes, interests and, let’s not forget, abilities, among other things.

Last November, a Twitter friend posted: “Why do we not have more safe public spaces for teens to hang out? Filling up Sovereign is not it.” In March, another friend shared that “We need more activity spaces for kids, though. Skating rink, more gaming rooms, a new Coney Park. We need a whole Dave & Buster’s type thing here, and nuh bodda tell mi bout di one a Loshusan.” Someone immediately responded, in agreement, saying, “Tiyad fi carry my pickney dem fi go eat ice cream.”

While both questions are obviously from people living in Kingston and St Andrew, it isn’t the only place where there is a need for more recreational spaces. It’s a question many people ask. In my home parish, Clarendon, for example, there is a dearth of such offerings.

A national focus on recreation and leisure is critical to our thrust to have a healthy and stable population and society that is cohesive and just. Note, the suggestion here isn’t that nothing exists. Yes, there is hiking, kayaking, fishing, parasailing, dirt biking, and plenty of bars, lounges, concerts, and parties, among others. Notwithstanding, one reasonably appreciates that the recreational and leisure spaces and activities that are available are somewhat limited and sometimes not very accessible (and that’s not only because entrance is expensive). Sometimes we don’t realise the predicament until wi feel fi do supm nice and different and it go tek long and cost yu nuff money. But, as mi friend seh, “We shouldn’t have to go far for leisure or fun, especially for teens and young adults. We have to increase options and introduce new options. Di place jus deady deady.”

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Some of the things we need to consider are beach access, community parks, community centres with a range of sports facilities, entertainment, and game options (not just bars, lounges and restaurants), age-appropriate things for children and teenagers and, importantly, spaces for the elderly and retired. This is by no means an exhaustive list but should, hopefully, help you think about what’s available in your community, town centre and parish.

One supposes the inattention to this issue is because it’s not popular, there is limited advocacy, little political will and, a friend said, is a “puritan idea that leisure is a luxury and encourages laziness” .

In November 2011, Chieh-Lu Li and Ching-Yi Wang from National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan, highlighted the view that “recreation not only brings physical and mental benefits to people, but also increases social interactions, refreshes the senses and provides wise and effective time utilisation”. They noted that leisure and recreation

• provide best ways to lower tense feelings, reduce anxiety, and manage the stress

• improve people’s health condition and further provide a natural way to stay

• healthy in life

• develop positive relationships among members of social groups

• provide an important approach to refill people’s energy and prepare people for the next work.

Jamaica needs accessible and well-managed spaces for leisure and recreation for people of varying ages, incomes, interests, abilities, etc. Recreation and leisure cannot, in any way, be only for a few of us. It must be more accessible. We cannot continue to be so cavalier about this matter. We do have some good examples like Emancipation Park and Harmony Park. One hopes that, as we reduce the debt and have more fiscal space, this can become a priority for the Government. Hopefully, the private sector sees a business opportunity to offer more too.

- Jaevion Nelson is a human-rights, economic and social justice and inclusive-development advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and jaevion@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @jaevionn.