A city isn’t just a systematic formation and structure of buildings, roads and people. It is a social community which interacts dynamically with social spaces creatively on a regular basis. Nature and greenery are the integral components made essential in the exercise of every building that comes up in the city. This implementation is often consolidated into parks in denser cities. Every park is a public resource. Parks serve recreational purposes like walking, relaxing or socializing. In an increasingly connected digital world, we are tending to disconnect ourselves from the real world. Parks and social recreation spaces assist us to stay connected.

Trees are the green lungs of our planet absorbing air pollution, recharging our groundwater resources & bringing life to an otherwise drab cityscape. With the growth of the city and a trend towards concretization, the green cover of the city has taken a beating. As part of the Area Based Development (ABD) of T Nagar under the Smart City mission, GCC is taking up a constructive step to improve the green cover in eight parks by introducing indigenous plants and incorporating rainwater harvesting elements. This helps to improve the quality of life in the area. Additionally, the creation of mounds and swales to increase the green open areas, the erection of aesthetic pagodas for resting & the incorporation of disability-friendly infrastructure will create a social dividend to a larger range of people. It is also proposed to create wifi-hotspots, CCTV monitoring system and other IT-enabled services in some of these parks to attract greater usage which will promote social engagement. The inclusion of rainwater harvesting, e-toilets and sewage treatment facilities has been included to preserve and protect our water resources too.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has taken productive steps to promote holistic development for Chennai City. This also includes greenery and vegetation in the city. The 8 parks were refurbished with the aim of improving the livability of the citizens. The investment made on parks to improve the social life of Chennaiites and also the air quality is just an example. A few reasons for investing in these parks are:

The GCC through the Chennai Smart City Project will provide a healthier way of living and socializing to the citizens of Chennai. Parks act as a common meeting place for citizens in a particular area. They will also beautify the city. Some benefits of parks for a city and its people are: