In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, cities around the world are re-evaluating the importance of accessible green spaces for the benefit of public health and well-being. However, Taiwan’s success in containing the virus might impede opportunities to transform its cities into greener, healthier and more resilient places.
Urban vegetable gardens have been highlighted by community planners worldwide during this wave of the green-space movement. Such gardens help enhance food security and also mental health, which in turn fosters social resilience in local communities during lockdowns.
Since 2015, Taipei has run the “garden city” program, which allocates vacant land for use as green space. It could be viewed as a far-sighted policy. However, the city is about to enact a plan that runs counter to this visionary approach.
“Happiness Farm” in Songshan District’s (松山) Fujian Borough (復建) was created seven years ago on a vacant lot owned by the Ministry of National Defense. It has become popular among residents as a place not only to grow vegetables, but also to meet with neighbors and ease the symptoms of depression.
The Taipei City Government has repeatedly held up the garden as an example. Its popularity and success continue to attract visitors — even from aboard. However, residents have always been afraid of losing it.
The garden is located in the city center, and the land is worth NT$2 billion (US$67.5 million). For this reason, the garden’s design is quite simple, using mostly inexpensive and temporary materials. Borough Warden Lin Kun-xin (林坤信) said that the ministry, as the landlord, was not happy to see the garden’s success, as it makes it difficult for it to reclaim the land.
Earlier this month, the doomsday scenario arrived. Without prior consultation with the community, the ministry told Lin that the garden must be cleared within three months to make way for social housing to be built by the National Housing and Urban Regeneration Center.
It is understandable that the city needs more affordable housing, but the appropriateness of the location and the decisionmaking process matters. It seems that the ministry and the center have already made an agreement, so residents have no chance to voice their opinion on the matter.
As there is a relatively high rate of vacant housing in Wanhua (萬華) and Beitou (北投) districts, it would be more practical to reuse or refurbish vacant properties to provide affordable housing rather than further increase the density of buildings in the city center, where green spaces are already scarce.
Among the strengths of the garden city program are its robust public-private partnership and the active public participation in shaping policy. It would be a pity to undermine this with such an abrupt decision. After all, it is always easier to protect an existing green space than to reclaim it later, especially in a densely developed city such as Taipei.
While the pandemic has catalyzed urban redevelopment, Taiwan is still behind the curve on rethinking the need for food supply and contact with nature in urban communities. It is also a critical time to consider what communities really need and who can decide what they have in their immediate surroundings.
Shih Wan-yu is an associate professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Disaster Management at Ming Chuan University in Taipei.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS