A System of Systems

It should be no surprise that one of the Biden Administration’s early initiatives is its “build back better” plan. Whether or not we embrace all aspects of that plan, the sobering reality of our nation’s dilapidation is on display in the most recent American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. ASCE uses eight criteria to evaluate condition, performance, and need for improvement in seventeen categories, and this year it came to the conclusion that while there have been ameliorations in some areas, our cumulative grade is a dispiriting C-. If infrastructure is that interconnected “system of systems” on which individual and collective wellbeing relies, then the United States clearly has much work to do.

From bridges to broadband, all ASCE categories are important; however, of particular interest to me are public parks, which Eric Klinenberg calls civic and social infrastructure, or “spaces and gathering places [that…] help foster human interaction and collective life.” Whether owned and operated by local, county, regional, state, or federal agencies, there is understanding that parks can contribute to economic prosperity and “thriving, healthy, resilient communities.” Although these tens of thousands of locations are popular with Americans, our investment in them is lagging, their condition is therefore deteriorating, and in 2021 ASCE graded public parks a dismal D+ (for many years prior the grade had been C-).

As the US gradually emerges from the worst of COVID, it is easy to anticipate the benefits of fully funded and warmly welcoming public parks, for by design they can do much to help remedy the physical, psychological, and social consequences of pandemic isolation. Klinenberg is right in saying infrastructure is essentially “about who we are, what we value and what kind of society we want to create." With that in mind, I believe we have arrived at the ideal moment for governments, private companies, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer groups to join together and bring our parks back from the brink.