> For example, in the US there are approximately 500 more libraries today than there were 20 years ago. There are, depending on how you count, 100 more public parks.
I'm not sure how useful these absolute numbers are. At minimum I'd think you would need to normalize against population growth. According to Google, US population has grown by ~17% in the past 20 years.
But even separate from that, US-wide stats may not be informative about whether libraries and parks are over-crowded in any given state or metro area.
I wouldn't assume the root cause of these complaints is necessarily pessimism. Ironically, that assumption itself seems a bit pessimistic too!
I'm not sure how useful these absolute numbers are. At minimum I'd think you would need to normalize against population growth. According to Google, US population has grown by ~17% in the past 20 years.
But even separate from that, US-wide stats may not be informative about whether libraries and parks are over-crowded in any given state or metro area.
I wouldn't assume the root cause of these complaints is necessarily pessimism. Ironically, that assumption itself seems a bit pessimistic too!