Green is healthful

The environmental reasons for saving the Overton Park greensward are important. Our right as taxpayers to get to enjoy our public places is important. There are many reasons we want to save the greensward.

Another reason to consider for saving the greensward: social justice.

Memphis is No. 1 in obesity in the nation. Memphis received 5 out of 100 on the healthy environment rating. These facts come from the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Also, 29.8 percent of Memphians live in poverty. Memphis is No. 1 in overall and childhood poverty in the country. Twenty percent of Memphis households have an income of less than $15,000 per year. This information comes from Dr. Elena Delavega’s Poverty Fact Sheets (2015, University of Memphis).

Entry to the Memphis Zoo is $55 (including parking) for a family of four (two adults and two children).

Many Memphians cannot afford to go to the zoo. Free Tuesdays work well only for families where an adult does not have to work regular hours.

Memphians are shouldering the tax burden for the many beneficiaries of the Memphis Zoo, unable to afford admittance to said attraction, and are now prohibited from accessing the bit of urban green space that remains.

Memphians need access to free and safe urban green spaces. The health of our community depends on it.