Playful City USA
KaBOOM! has the vision of "a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America." They lead select playspace build projects that strengthen communities. They share best practices in play at their national conference UPlay!, in regional trainings and on their portal, www.kaboom.org. Finally, through the Playful City USA Program, KaBOOM! supports cities across the nation in taking action locally to build an infrastructure that promotes, creates and sustains an abundance of time and space for play for all children in every community.
On its tenth anniversary KaBOOM! created a strategy positioned to inspire individuals to take greater leadership roles in advocating for play in their communities. "Because together, as a national network of Playmakers, we will promote a shared vision and a unified voice about the importance of play that will increase public awareness, create better public policy, and generate funding to increase play at a local and national level," said Kristen Mehr, National Advocacy Director of KaBOOM!
With nearly one million youth within the "Valley of the Sun", Shawna Bradlich, Executive Director of the Maricopa Council on Youth Sports and Physical Activity (MCYSPA), stepped forward as a Playmaker to guide local communities in this national endeavor. MCYSPA is working hard to bridge the community, leverage available resources, shape public policy, and work effectively to improve urban design, particularly with commitment to the needs of underserved communities.
"Among the issues of today's youth are lack of proper playspaces and health disparities caused by inactivity and poor nutrition... some youth turn to health harming or premature adult behaviors…as a result, many children are missing out on their childhood," said Bradlich.
MCYSPA recently introduced an outstanding KaBOOM! opportunity to the Phoenix-area called Playful City USA. Five core commitments (listed below) are the basic components for establishing an agenda on play that ripples through city hall, schools and neighborhoods. These commitments can be interpreted in a variety of ways based on the status of play, the political climate and the existing infrastructure within a local community. However, to achieve the status of being a Playful City USA all commitments must be met via public-private partnerships to ensure that an agenda on play exists as a long-term matter of political importance in a given community.
A Playful City USA community will be given priority consideration for all KaBOOM! resources including Challenge grants and Corporate/Community builds such as those Home Depot and other great corporate partners support. In addition, KaBOOM! is developing national partnerships interested in supporting Playful City USA communities. Finally, when applying independently for grants and funding, this national recognition demonstrates a family-friendly, livable community that is committed to children.
"Across the nation, playgrounds, parks, sport facilities, trails, and open spaces are in decline. This adds to the challenge of promoting healthy lifestyles for citizens of all ages. However, the City of Phoenix has done a remarkable job of prioritizing parks, preserves and playspaces. MCYSPA wanted to showcase the work of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and use it as a model for other cities, this was a primary reason we chose to first partner with the City of Phoenix in the Playful City USA initiative," said Bradlich.
Primary commitments made between the public-private partnership of MCYSPA and City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department to apply for Playful City USA status:
- Create a local play task force and/or commission including mayor/mayoral appointee, community liaison, business community and community-at-large representatives.
- Conduct a playspace audit documenting all publicly accessible playspaces. This information will be provided to the public through the Geographic Information System web-site.
- Design an annual action plan for play including outreach, education, engagement of public officials, and action steps towards ensuring safe playspaces.
- Set benchmarks for growth in city spending on capital projects and maintenance of playspaces not only for the Parks and Recreation Department but also schools and other public spaces.
- Proclaim and celebrate an annual "Play Day" engaging Mayor Gordon to declare an Annual Play Day, and encouraging community partnerships to hold interactive educational events to raise awareness about the important role physical activity, nutrition, and play have in building healthy lives.
