Open Spaces

So I was being driven home past the Parliament Buildings last night and noticed the the open space right opposite the said building fenced off with metal railings (it also registered recently that the Non-Aligned monument down the road also had metal railings to prevent people from removing the stone busts out of sheer 'worthlessness'). 
While I admire an acquaintance trying to change things that didn't seem right to her, I reflected sadly that loss of open spaces within an urban environment can affect us subtly in ways we might not be aware of. I digress to remember being in Halls of Residence in my fourth year after leaving Guyana to study and how I became aware I was grateful that I was high enough and on the 'right' side to look out directly onto a patch of open space while surrounded by the concrete jungle of the Barbican. That patch of green remained through the winter months and it was the first thing my eyes looked at and unconsciously looked for while looking out of the window. Now that I think about it Parks in England have had to fence off over the years to prevent the indigent from camping out and sadly likewise in Guyana where it seems the amount of people unable to cope with the 21st Century have increased.
I mentioned my acquaintance because having a high social awareness she was active in leading the 'camping outside' Parliament and 'deter Chris Brown from coming to Guyana' protests. Unfortunately she is also convinced that the HPV vaccine is not a good thing and her next pet project is to get Medical Terminations of pregnancies done through the Public Health system. As trained personnel don't just drop out of heaven this would realistically not be feasible until another 3-5yrs or so but there ought to be some sort of Forum where citizens can voice their concerns and direct all that energy and passion as my view is I prefer to hear them rather than the horrible apathy at seems to pervade and suck all the Life Energy out of you.