Local community playgrounds might sound like a “nice-to-have”, but not a critical neighborhood resource like garbage pickup or a fire department. Indeed, many communities have seen potential playground space auctioned off to “more important” causes like commercial and retail uses. However, a public playground is actually a critical component of any healthy, thriving community. Here are some reasons shared playgrounds are vital to revitalizing neighborhoods.
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A Space to Move and Breathe
Many local neighborhoods are urban deserts, lacking space for children to play and adults to exercise without paying for a gym membership. Even in rural areas, car-centric design can make it challenging to find safe places to walk, run, jump, climb, or play. Community playgrounds solve this problem by creating a designated space for movement, away from highways and busy parking lots. They’re a win-win when it comes to promoting fitness and cardiovascular health.
A simple commercial swing set and a jungle gym are enough to get kids and their parents up and moving. Ideally, however, a playground should also add some green space to any otherwise concrete-filled space. When playgrounds are designed thoughtfully, as part of a community park with greenery, shade, and benches, they help folks breathe better in a second way. They provide a welcome respite from the smog, cement, and exhaust of big cities and overdeveloped suburbs.
Development and Mental Health
Kids need spaces to move, play and mess around with other kids — without them, their mental and physical health and development suffer. Cooped up inside all day with screens and devices, they’re at an increased risk for obesity, attention issues, behavioral problems, vision problems, and cognitive delays. Children who spend more than two hours a day on screen time also perform worse when it comes to language, critical thinking, and reasoning.A playground gets children out in the world, interacting with nature, physical objects, and other children. They can learn to solve complex coordination puzzles (how do I get from this monkey bar to the next one?) and build practical problem-solving skills. This can, in turn, help them build self-esteem and develop creativity, executive function, and more. Meanwhile, keeping their minds and bodies active and interacting with others can stave off depression and anxiety.
Relationship Building
Many younger children, especially in the United States, are struggling to build healthy levels of connection with their peers. That can be especially true for children who spent their formative years in pandemic lockdown, or who already struggle with autism and social skills. Some of these children only ever learned to build connections through screens and with their immediate family members. They’ve never had the chance to try making friends in the outside world.
Third spaces like playgrounds are critical for children to form healthy relationships “IRL” (in real life). This became extremely evident when kids had to go to “Zoom school” and could only meet other kids outdoors. Community playgrounds are a chance for kids to meet their peers and practice polite behavior and forming trustworthy connections. They’re also an opportunity to practice failure and rejection and learn discernment and appropriate coping skills.
Third Spaces and Community Organizing
A playground isn’t just a place for kids to build connections; it’s also a space for adults to do the same. In an increasingly lonely, isolating, work-from-home, drive-everywhere world, third spaces provide a lifeline for basic sanity. They’re a place to go outside, read a book, have a coffee, start up a chat and hopefully make a lifelong friend. They’re one of the last places left where Americans don’t have to pay to simply exist, “hang out,” and build community.
Beyond that, playgrounds can become a safe space for public organizing and community development efforts. They’re a chance for folks with shared interest to meet by chance, strike up a conversation, and encounter shared problems. When two people from the same neighborhood meet organically, they’re likely to start talking about local issues and community needs. This can, over time, lead them to organize for local change with community meetings and local activism.
The Business Case for Playgrounds
Playgrounds aren’t just good for people; they’re also good for just about any neighborhood, local government, or urban developer’s bottom line. When they’re attractive and well-located, close to local businesses and attractions, they can bring in tons of additional funds. Think of it this way: if the playground is nice enough, you’ll want to spend more time, alone or with your kids. More time translates to more spending on coffee, snacks, municipal parking meters, and local retail.
As the months and years pass, more businesses come, and public perception of the neighborhood improves. Everyone invests more in the neighborhood, in myriad ways, and it becomes safer, more popular, and more desirable. If city officials and planners are careful to avoid pushing out locals, this change can be good for just about everyone. Local business and property owners can make more, schools and neighborhood resources get more funding, and benefits can last decades.
An Investment, Not a Quick Fix
In order for any of this to work, city planners need to see a playground as a continued investment. It needs to be well-designed, well-maintained, and thoughtfully located in order to truly make a difference. If a playground is hard to get to, unpleasant to use, or falling apart, it can become a haven for crime and drug use. Playground planners should advocate to install their designs in high foot-traffic areas, and make plans (including funding) for repairs and upkeep.