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Comment by kfajdsl | Hacker News Reader

How many private parks are there? Pretty much every one I've been to has been government run, other than small outdoor spaces next to private buildings and large pay for admission gardens that are usually way out in the boonies on the grounds of an old plantation or manor.

I can't think of how a private, but still public-access, park survives without a rich benefactor eating the losses, even today.

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all of my favorite hiking areas in the birmingham, alabama area were privately owned. churches have public areas that you can enjoy as a non-member of the church. i'm sure we could think of more

edit: oh i just realized a huge one in my daily life: the intervale in burlington is owned by the intervale center but the community garden is managed by the city's parks & rec. also there are a ton of public trails on that private property.

In New York, you sometimes find unofficial community parks / third spaces on unused plots of land which for whatever reason (such as a strange shape) are difficult to develop. These are maintained by enthusiastic local residents, and the land owners turn a blind eye to it as long as there are no complaints.

If LVT is implemented, land owners will have a financial incentive to sell off the plots, and the spaces will be gone.

Sell them to who? How much would someone pay for land that's difficult to develop?

If someone else can develop the land, why doesn't the current land owner

What incentive to sell off the plot does LVT create that doesn't already exist, maybe with a marginally lower degree? I'm guessing the reason they can't sell a tiny weirdly shaped lot is that no one wants it. If they didn't want it and they could sell it, they already have ample financial incentive to sell.

Around here, there are a bunch of private parks in that you pay a fee to enter the park or you can purchase a membership. The fee is minimal and mostly just serves to maintain the park. These are privately held parks, too, not owned by local or state government.

As far as I am aware, they are able to survive on their membership or visitor fees. But major improvements do take larger donation.

Private park, where you can’t even walk without paying an upright fee? Sounds like dystopian late stage capitalism. If it’s a well maintained garden I understand, but a sqare lawn should be free put your foot on.

I think we're defining park differently. Yes, I mean a large maintained garden with maintained trails. Not just a blank piece of grass, which I wouldn't honestly call a park.

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