August 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 15

R E S E A R C H U P DAT E

The Power of Urban Play

P

A national intiative on the community
benefits of play in urban areas.

lay enriches life . T he

benefits of play are well documented for fighting obesity and promoting physical activity, reducing
stress and violence, promoting academic achievement, fostering social and emotional
development, engaging in nature, and supporting
community development. Tragically, many children in urban areas face barriers and disparities
for play. Urban areas face unique trends and challenges to play as they manage growing urban densities, diversity, and urban integration.
The Power of Urban Play: Unleashing the Role
of Play as Community Assets is a national initiative, sponsored by PlayCore, to identify the importance of play for urban communities, define
the trends and unique characteristics of urban
communities, and discuss best practice strategies for developing and maintaining healthy play
environments that are critical for the well-being
of children, families, and communities. Data was
collected and summarized through a series of
interviews, surveys, and roundtable discussions

with more than 40 urban parks and
recreation leaders from across the
country. Following is the executive
summary of the 40-page report.

The Problem
Urban park and recreation leaders
across the country identified the
following current challenges and
obstacles for healthy play in their
communities:
■■  A

vast disparity in play environments for urban communities
■■  Increasing levels of childhood
obesity
■■  Limited opportunities for promoting healthy development and wellness
■■  Concerns about crime on playgrounds
that prevent families from playing there
■■   Insufficient access to resources for development and sustainability of play spaces

About the Power of Urban Play
The report, launched in October 2009 as a " Hot Topic " at
the NRPA Congress & Exposition, was written in collaboration with Joesph Wynns, former director of the Indianapolis
Parks and Recreation Department (Indy Parks), numerous
participants, and members of the Urban Play Roundtable. It
was funded and published by PlayCore, a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of commercial park
and playground equipment and related play, recreation, and
youth fitness programs. For more information or to request
a copy of the full report, visit www.playcore.com/urbanplay.

dreamstime

A National Survey: What Urban Park and Recreation
Leaders are Saying about Play
Respondents reported that the most common initiatives
have been establishing public/private funding partnerships
to support play area development (93.1 percent), developing

	

destination parks that are inclusive and multigenerational
(79.3 percent), establishing public/private partnerships to
support play programming (75.9 percent), integrating nature
in play environments (72.4 percent), providing programs at
playgrounds (69.0 percent), and utilizing a playground master planning process (58.6 percent).
While less common, other initiatives also show prevalence: providing play workers or play leaders in parks or
playgrounds (41.4 percent) and innovative options for providing transportation to play opportunities (34.5 percent).
Other initiatives that departments/agencies have reportedly undertaken (20.7 percent) included urban ecology centers and traveling programs, training programs about urban
play and other topics, integration of manipulatives/loose
parts, participatory design programs, and data collection
and analysis.

www.NRPA .ORG

SEPTEMBER 2010

Parks & Recreation	

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August 2010 - Parks & Recreation

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