What Happened?
A growing number of municipal initiatives are focused on city playgrounds as a means to improve quality of life and economic development.
Child Opportunity Index
Brandeis University’s Heller School of Social Policy and Management and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity recently developed the Child Opportunity Index to evaluate neighborhoods across the county on their ability to provide resources for families and children. The interactive tool ranks neighborhoods based no how healthy they are for childhood development to assist families when they move to new areas.
To determine a neighborhood’s overall ranking, researchers examined:
- Educational opportunities
- Health and environmental opportunities
- Social and economic opportunities
According to the Child Opportunity Index data, many communities in the U.S. fail to provide residents with the appropriate tools to raise healthy and successful children. For example, many children do not live near outdoor playgrounds that encourage physical activity. When neighborhoods lack these essential childhood development resources, it is more difficult to attract young families to the area.
New York City
The New York City Parks Department understands firsthand how important it is to not only create playgrounds for children but also maintain them to ensure safety of all residents. The parks department reported $20 million taxpayer dollars were spent on playground injuries over the last 10 years resulting from 577 parents filing claims against the city, The New York Post reported.
According to a comptroller report, personal injury claims increased 53 percent between 2005 and 2014, underscoring the need for neighborhoods to keep up with playground repairs and upgrades each year. The city has analyzed all of its playgrounds to determine which facilities represent the greatest potential for injury and undue cost to taxpayers, The New York Post reported.
While some of the injuries can be attributed to broken equipment or trash, others are associated with how playgrounds are designed. Any number of unexpected problems can arise including:
- Swings installed too low to the ground
- Rubber mats burning too hot in the sun
- Improper surfacing with defective or missing matting
Simple adjustments such as adding additional shading and adjusting undamaged equipment can make a significant difference in boosting child safety while lower expensive claims.
Loudoun
The Loudoun County School Board in Virginia recently approved an initiative requiring all elementary school construction projects to include a standard playground. This will place the responsibility of playground construction and maintenance on the school board, rather than relying on parent-teacher organizations or private contributions to support the projects, The Washington Post reported.
Prior to the passing of the initiative, communities in Loudoun County had to raise funds to add playgrounds to new school yards. Other jurisdictions surrounding Loudoun County already provide public elementary schools with playgrounds – which can cost up to $75,000 each. The Loudoun County School Board will now use existing capital funds to install playgrounds at four schools in need. If a community wants a playground to be accessible to children with disabilities, parent-teacher organization fundraising and private donations can be used pay for the additional costs, The Washington Post reported.
Rock River
The city of Rock River, Ohio, recently granted a local resident permission to build a park specifically designed for children with disabilities. Because many traditional playgrounds do not accommodate children with special needs, one resident is designed an adaptive park that is accessible to all children in the community, Cleveland.com reported.
The $1.5 million playground will be constructed on city land near an existing park adjacent to the Rock River City Hall. The revamped playground will include design elements that cater to children with a wide array of disabilities such as ramps and wheelchair-accessible swings, Cleveland.com reported.
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