CASE STUDY #2

MOUNTAIN LAKE

Green island in the middle of ger area

Ulziitogtokh Sodnomsenge

CHALLENGE 

The concept of a public space is often perceived by many as places that serve people – cafes, movie theaters, and libraries etc. What is a public space? public places are dedicated places for community members to use for various purposes, including places that support social gatherings, activities for development and support, public information and many others. As for their ownership and management status, public spaces can be owned and managed by 1) community members; 2) government; 3) individuals or private companies; and can be operated for commercial purposes.   

In recent years, there has been more initiative from the private sector to fund the creation and maintenance of public places. For instance, the garden in front of Central Tower and the newly reclaimed and renovated garden of Choijin Lama Temple are well known places funded by private companies for UB residents. Unfortunately, public places and community centers initiated and financed by individuals are few and even less in the outskirts of UB’s ger areas. However, we see an opportunity to expand such places if we can support individual initiatives through policy and systemic change. This case study highlights Uuliin Nuur (Mountain Lake in English), one of a few public places launched and flourished by an individual.

turned into a dumping ground after its closure. Ulziitogtokh embarked upon a long journey in 2010 to transform the site into green space. The transformation required patience and happened in incremental steps: there were days he would work hard cleaning the site and find the place littered again the next morning. Yet, he did not give up and continued working hard, eventually changing his neighbors who no longer saw the site as a dumping ground. He opened the ice rink in winter 2012 and officially opened his park in May 2014. Visitors to the Mountain Lake Park have been increasing ever since: around 5,000 people go to the place between May and October. The number goes up to around 9,000-10,000 children (a count based recurrent visitors) and youth for the ice rink during the cold months between mid-November and through February. He built a community center at the site and continuously improves it to run different programs for children, including teaching English and Japanese, music and ice hockey.

How much help did he get from others, especially from his community, for this big transformation? 

Ulziitogtokh has funded the operation with revenues from the boating and ice rink. He says that the community members probably think that the center does not need any help given the paid services he is offering at the park. At the same time, he has tried not to burden others by asking for assistance. Work around the Mountain Lake is seasonal: he needs more manpower in spring for weeding the site and rental assistants during the peak hours when the ice rink is open in winter months. His neighbors offer help for such needs but they are not always available during work hours because of their own jobs, Ulziitogtgokh explains.

He bought adjacent land from his neighbors at a market rate to expand the park area. Ulzii is certain that his neighbors were content with their decisions with a firm belief that the Mountain Lake has a bright future, although it might’ve been sad for them to depart from their neighborhood. 

Ulziitogtokh’s expectation for community support is quite simple: he would be delighted if people stop littering at the park rather than offering volunteer labor for his projects. Some adults drink alcohol at the park however, more and more of those people listen to him when reminded that the park is a family friendly environment, where children spend a lot of time. A positive change Ulziitogtokh has observed throughout his ten-year efforts is that as the park draws more people and becomes more appealing, less people litter and drink alcohol at the park and more people happily accept his demands and reminders. 

Ulziitogtokh’s experience teaches us that if we can't help someone with their work, the least we can do is not create more issues for them.  We can also conclude that people's viewpoints and attitudes change as abandoned places are transformed into valuable places. 

 While Ulziitogtokh has been able to create a public space on his own, there is a potential to encourage such initiatives and increase the number of and access to public places in the ger areas if we can provide systematic support to individuals like Ulziitogtokh who are providing essential services to the public.