Monday, August 20, 2007
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
The City’s “Redd Up” crew—a specialized and focused deployment of members of the Public Works Department—are miffed about the condition of the areas where they focus their efforts. And rightly so. Consider the details from a newspaper article this past weekend: public and private properties that were cleaned only to return in a few weeks to their earlier deplorable condition. The crews are frustrated that public parks are returning to litter-strewn lots while abandoned structures that were improved have slipped back into their previous sorry state.
They are Pittsburgh’s version of the mythical Sisyphus, who was doomed forever to roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down. But unlike the myth, it is not a curse that has condemned the Redd Up crew to repeat performances of litter removal; it is the uncaring attitude of residents and visitors who that continue to foul the landscape.
Much of this attitude can attributed to the “Tragedy of the commons” wherein the absence of property rights and ownership reduces the sense of stewardship of public park users. Nonetheless, the crews are not giving up but will refocus their efforts on making more permanent improvements rather than merely cleaning up messes. Good luck with that. One must wonder how much manpower and money will be wasted when all is said and done with the “Redd up” campaign if residents do not adopt a better sense of responsibility for helping maintain clean, safe parks.
They are Pittsburgh’s version of the mythical Sisyphus, who was doomed forever to roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down. But unlike the myth, it is not a curse that has condemned the Redd Up crew to repeat performances of litter removal; it is the uncaring attitude of residents and visitors who that continue to foul the landscape.
Much of this attitude can attributed to the “Tragedy of the commons” wherein the absence of property rights and ownership reduces the sense of stewardship of public park users. Nonetheless, the crews are not giving up but will refocus their efforts on making more permanent improvements rather than merely cleaning up messes. Good luck with that. One must wonder how much manpower and money will be wasted when all is said and done with the “Redd up” campaign if residents do not adopt a better sense of responsibility for helping maintain clean, safe parks.
