>Why Are We Still Making Unshaded Playgrounds?
Because the US is developed as an urbanite-hostile wasteland, devoid of third places[1], where people are kept out of the streets by design, and are goaded into existing only in the following locations:
1. Home
2. Work
3. Car
4. Somewhere you will be spending money - particularly, if it involves connecting with other people
Parks exist, but I can't recall the last time I met anyone at a park. The interactions are usually limited to "Hello" and commenting on the weather as you pass someone on a trail.
There are exceptions, of course. And there are shaded playgrounds too. But there's a reason most people meet their spouses online these days. The Internet has become our third place because our actual places keep us isolated.
NYC is on of the few exceptional American cities, but it, too, is not immune to the blight (so excellently described by N.K. Jemisin in her ode to The City[3] that only New Yorkers will fully appreciate).
The playgrounds follow the overall trend.
[1] https://esl.uchicago.edu/2023/11/01/third-places-what-are-th...
[2] https://www.theknot.com/content/online-dating-most-popular-w...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_We_Became
Because the US is developed as an urbanite-hostile wasteland, devoid of third places[1], where people are kept out of the streets by design, and are goaded into existing only in the following locations:
1. Home
2. Work
3. Car
4. Somewhere you will be spending money - particularly, if it involves connecting with other people
Parks exist, but I can't recall the last time I met anyone at a park. The interactions are usually limited to "Hello" and commenting on the weather as you pass someone on a trail.
There are exceptions, of course. And there are shaded playgrounds too. But there's a reason most people meet their spouses online these days. The Internet has become our third place because our actual places keep us isolated.
NYC is on of the few exceptional American cities, but it, too, is not immune to the blight (so excellently described by N.K. Jemisin in her ode to The City[3] that only New Yorkers will fully appreciate).
The playgrounds follow the overall trend.
[1] https://esl.uchicago.edu/2023/11/01/third-places-what-are-th...
[2] https://www.theknot.com/content/online-dating-most-popular-w...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_We_Became