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Risk/Reward
Yesterday, I walked my 3-year-old son, Paddy, across the street for his first day of school. He looked up at me right before I walked out of his sunny classroom with a slightly accusing look — a mix of trepidation, betrayal, anticipation and confusion. As I tried to keep it together, (I am wont to bouts of sentimentality descending from a long line of saps) I walked out past the PK 3 playground, a sad excuse for a play structure that will hardly hold the attention of even the most forgiving 3-year-old. I don’t blame the school, they’re asked to do much — educate, feed, babysit — but the sad state of affairs in the play business extends beyond school boundaries. A recent CityLab piece laments the lack of ”risky” play spaces here in the U.S., and I think most of us, especially parents, can detect the lack of inspiration. I speak only anecdotally, but logs and trees and sticks in the woods hold my kids’ attention far longer than most playspaces. Not to say that slides and swings aren’t wonderful, and that play structures, when well designed and built, can't be magical, but where’s the growth without a little risk?
Adventure play, experimentation and cognitive development, according to the data, go hand in hand. Imagination and tinkering facilitate brain development. How can we retrofit our playspaces to foster growth? How does our litigious culture reconcile our need for safety with the innate need to feel a little danger, to push boundaries and test assumptions even at a young age?
“The take-home message for municipalities is: stop setting your bar at the level of the most anxious parent. If you do that, you’re guaranteed to produce boring and dull playgrounds,” said Tim Gill, a London-based researcher who recently authored a white paper on faulty assumptions about risky playgrounds.
So, who’s out there willing to take the leap of faith? Who’s willing to put out some hammers and nails and step back and let the magic happen? There may be a few bruises, a few scrapes, and maybe a splint or two. But there’s a broader good there — the lessons that will foster the next generation’s synapses firing in unique ways. Paddy and his classmates will be solving for climate change, for wage stagnation and inequality. Let’s make sure that our attention to early childhood education extends to play. Let’s give Paddy and his pals the places that are worthy of their developing young minds. Let’s give them the opportunity to mix it up, to mess up and cogitate. Let’s say we’ll do it for the children, but really let’s do it for us.
Kevin O'Hara
Vice President of Urban and Government Affairs
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Featured
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Typically, when we think about play, the idea of risk or danger may be a little scary, especially if we’re talking about children. Unstructured, hands-on, risk play is making a comeback, and it can teach kids lessons and skills that they can take with them for the rest of their lives. Listen to the latest episode of Open Space Radio, where we’re talking with a play expert about why risk and adventure play is such a vital component in kids' lives.
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Whether you’ve already joined the movement to ensure everyone has a great park within a 10-minute walk from home or you’re interested in learning more, join us on August 30 at 1 p.m. EDT for our live 10-Minute Walk Q&A session. During this session, you will have a chance to directly ask our experts questions on equity prioritization policies, designing with equity and engaging diverse populations in programming. The panel includes Landscape Architect Joy Kuebler, Milwaukee Recreation Facilities Projects Manager Pam Linn, Parks for New Portlanders Coordinator Som Subedi and NRPA Senior Program Manager Allison Colman.
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Stories That Matter
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The Mercury News
The project stems from the city’s walkable parks initiative, an offshoot of efforts by NRPA.
Next City
In an ideal world, Opportunity-Zone designation will infuse capital into low-income, historically marginalized communities.
Outside
Investing in trails, rapids and other adventure-sports assets transforms culture and cash flow.
Route Fifty
Economic experts discuss some considerations that surround the pending project.
United Nations
With two-thirds of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2050, forests are critical part of the solution to the unprecedented demand for water, food and energy that these cities will face.
Prince George's County Parks & Recreation
You won’t be able to stop watching the Maryland National-Capital and Park Planning Police show off their best moves.
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The summer slide is a well-documented phenomenon where students can lose up to three months of progress in reading and math skills learned during the previous school year.
The built environment affects our day-to-day behaviors and all aspects of health.
CityLab
The modern playground has become mind-numbingly standard-issue. There’s a movement afoot to bring “adventure” back into play.
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Southeastern Pennsylvania is ground zero for an invasive species outbreak that’s threatening trees and crops.
Trees in cities reduce pollution, store carbon and protect people in heatwaves.
CityLab
Using GIS technology, three environmental organizations are teaming up with residents to plant 1,000 trees in areas that need it most.
Sustainable City Network
The city is bringing environmental justice to its most vulnerable neighborhoods.
The Star Tribune
Even with the boost, St. Paul Parks and Rec will likely continue to fall behind.
Curbed Atlanta
In an area of Atlanta plagued by chronic flooding that’s wiped out scores of houses over the years, another multi-purpose park broke ground this week.
Next City
A new report describes a strategy for environmental impact bonding in which governments or authorities sell bonds to finance projects up-front, and investors can earn more financial return if certain performance goals are met or exceeded.
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Why did California voters tax themselves more than $4.1 billion to improve park access when they approved Proposition 68?
5,600. affordable housing units are promised at the beginning of the ambitious revitalization of former railroad rights-of-way encircling the core of Atlanta.
The new Unity Park in Greenville, South Carolina will not only bridge communities but also merge two once-segregated parks.
The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust makes homeownership more affordable for families with low to moderate incomes.
Alabama’s Jefferson County is home to a perfect storm of industrial air pollution, racist zoning laws and white flight, a new Birmingham Watch analysis finds.
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Because Everyone Deserves a Great Park
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© 2018 National Recreation and Park Association, All Rights Reserved
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