If you build it, they will stay: the development of public cricket provision as a construction of social citizenship

Abstract

Immigration is transforming the United States and cultural diversity is becoming increasingly visible within an emerging poly-ethnic society. Such a challenge to the singularity of cultural assimilation is having policy implications at multiple levels. For municipal parks and recreation departments, this cultural shift presents an extra dimension to the local government role of providing facilities that meet the needs of residents. This paper presents the case study of Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, which is the site of the first purpose-built cricket facility in the Research Triangle area. Furthermore, this paper argues that a Marshallian framework, albeit in re-conceptualized terms, can elicit the objective and subjective domains of citizenship as constructed through sport participation. Specifically, the development of the cricket field fosters a mono-ethnic and diasporic identity as well as a rich sense of belonging among the growing resident South Asian immigrant population.