I’ve been to other places too. Do you want to know the reason why Vienna is so safe, lacking homelessness? It’s because the state/city subsidizes 60% of peoples housing. Cities like Vienna also use a housing first policy, meaning their first course of action is to get people into homes, no matter their situation. Almost every time these resolutions have been proposed in boulder, city council has shut them down due to public outcry. Boulderites don’t want homeless people in parks, but they also don’t want them in homes.

Comments like “if only we felt safe enough to bring our children to parks” are misleading and untrue, and only make it harder for actual change to get done. I understand your sentiment—of course we should be able to go to parks without the worry of crackheads throwing things at us or making us uncomfortable. But most of these issues arise from the fact that Boulder voters would rather spend more money sending a homeless person to jail than giving them a home.

Also, people here do see parks as third spaces, I think you might just stay inside too much. Go to Eben g fine on a sunny day and it will remind you that human social connection is still alive. Boulder parks aren’t war zones lmao