Welcome to the People's Park

Article Assignment 1 – Welcome to the People’s Park

Rating: ****

            This article by Stephania Varalli talks about Rouge Park, and how it is on its way to becoming Canada’s first national urban park. Varalli is very thorough in her discussion of the area’s progress. She describes the park, and how it has improved in condition.

            Rouge Park is located in an area just outside of Toronto, so it is unique in that it is only a short bus trip away from a highly populated city. This fact, however, is not the reason it is referred to as an “urban park”. The term “urban park” is given to any park which contains infrastructure within its boundaries, such as pipelines or electric wires. The reason this park is worth noticing is not just its urban nature, it is also very decidedly “the people’s park”. Thousands of volunteers have contributed in a variety of ways to work towards keeping the urban sprawl at bay, and to have a fully-operational national park so close to our provincial capital.

            Varalli gives information about the history of the park, and describes its journey through the years. She talks about the park’s importance on a national scale, as well as on a historical scale. I recommend reading this article if you want to read about the approach to a historical moment for all Canadians. It is very well put together and enjoyable.

Varalli, Stephania. “Welcome to the People’s Park” adventura Fall 2012 Edition. Print. March 3, 2014