More and more Colombo playgrounds shut or subject to entrance fees
In the capital of Sri Lanka, public spaces for children to play are disappearing, hitting working-class communities hard. In Slave Island, historic gathering places have been privatised through opaque procedures and political pressure. The phenomenon is accelerated by urban regeneration programmes.
Colombo (AsiaNews) - Public playgrounds in Colombo are disappearing, and those that remain are fenced off and closed, accessible only to those who pay an entrance fee. Previously, they were used by those living in cramped accommodation in densely populated neighbourhoods, without private gardens or shared courtyards. These spaces were essential for the community's play and recreation; Young people played cricket and football, while chatting in spaces that offered welcome relief from the concrete-surrounded homes of the city.
In Slave Island, the central area of the city, the erosion of public space is severe. Playgrounds and community spaces have been handed over to private real estate companies through a series of opaque administrative manoeuvres and uncontrolled invasions by corporate conglomerates. For generations, these public playgrounds have served as the social heart of the working-class communities of Slave Island (Kompannaveediya in Sinhalese).
Since the mid-1990s, public spaces in Colombo have shrunk and working-class communities have been forced to live in flats in high-rise buildings on the outskirts of the city. This phenomenon has been accelerated by urban development initiatives, including the state's post-war Urban Regeneration Programme (URP). Currently, residents find themselves without access to the spaces that their parents and grandparents enjoyed freely.
Sarath Manamperi, Arjun Ravichandrarajah and Adil Mohammed, residents of Slave Island, told AsiaNews that Stanley Jansz playground, known as Mati (Clay) Park, was the hub of community life in Kompannaveediya. "According to archival documents, the park was established around 1924 and has been in public use for over a century. However, according to community records and social media, the space was privatised around 2018. Currently, access is restricted and subject to payment, indicating a clear shift from public ownership to commercial control,‘ the residents explained.
’In addition to the official playgrounds, during our childhood there were also smaller open spaces that once served as informal play areas. Many of these places are currently fenced off, claimed by a private company to be used as warehouses or vehicle parking lots,‘ they continued.
According to university lecturers Pradeepa Alwis and Nilantha Caldera, ’unchecked political power can quietly appropriate public land." Muttiah Grounds — also a day cricket ground — is one such example. ‘The land was leased to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) in 1933 as a community playground. In early 2021, it was suddenly taken over. As the operation was orchestrated by a high-level politician, residents were unable to oppose it,’ they said.
‘Some issues cannot be challenged openly. Legally, the Muttiah Grounds still belongs to the city of Colombo, but in practice it has been turned into a private construction site,’ the lecturers added. "In addition to political coercion, administrative loopholes have also made Colombo's municipal land vulnerable, as there is no comprehensive and up-to-date inventory of land owned by the city. Many residents believe that municipal land is a “hidden treasure”, valuable, untracked, but easily confiscable.‘
Lawyers Namal Samarasekara and Manohari Gamage believe that the City League Playground in Slave Island, an important local football field originally intended for the community, ’is currently under private control." ‘According to archival documents, including reports from the Colonial Secretariat, the land was officially allocated to the CMC in 1916 as a public football field. Although the site was initially leased to private entities in the 1940s, reflecting a long-standing pattern of informal privatisation, the public had free access to the field until 2009,’ they explained. Currently, those who control it require a payment for public access.
‘In major cities around the world, parks and playgrounds serve as “common living rooms” and “lungs of the city”,’ the lawyers add on the issue. ‘Colombo's playgrounds are quietly passing into private hands thanks to opaque administrative processes, as the CMC has failed to maintain a clear and up-to-date inventory of its land. The government has blatantly neglected its duties to its citizens by using valuable historical assets for profit.’
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24/01/2007
