Let’s Go Play! Non-Profit Organization KaBOOM! Announces List of 118 “Playful City USA” Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. –For ensuring children in their communities are healthy and active, 118 towns and cities across America have earned recognition as 2010 Playful City USA communities, overcoming tight budgets and Park and Recreation departments struggling to find funding.

According to a recent report released by the National League of Cities, seven in 10 city officials have responded to the economic crisis by cutting personnel. A pre-summer National Recreation and Parks Association survey found that 55% of its members have endured budget cuts in 2010 and 60% expect more in 2011. The cutbacks continue despite survey findings from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that show only 20% of homes in America have a park within a half mile away.

Recently, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the launch of the Let’s Move campaign in 2010 to help counteract this situation. The campaign is geared toward solving the issue of childhood obesity within a generation through several ways, which includes unstructured play.

This undertaking directly coincides with objectives of Playful City USA – a national recognition program which honors cities and towns that are determined to make play a priority and ensure children are healthy by providing space and time for unstructured playing. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit that is dedicated to saving play. It has recognized 118 cities across the United States as Playful City USA communities.

Ranging in size from San Francisco and Atlanta, to Ottawa, Kan., and Shirley, Mass., and across 36 states, these Playful City USA communities have made a commitment to play and physical activity by developing action plans that increase the quantity and quality of play in their community. By doing so, innovative ideas and cost-effective programs have been developed in these Playful City USA communities – and proves that parks and play are more important than ever.

This is the fourth year of the program, and 33 of 118 Playful City USA communities were honorees from 2009, 30 were honored for the third consecutive year and 19 communities received Playful City USA status for the fourth straight year.

For the third straight year, Florida leads the country with 19 Playful City USA communities, followed by Arizona and California which have 10 communities each. California and Arizona are sharing second place for the second straight year. Arizona led the country in 2007 and was third in 2008.

Each one of the 2010 Playful City USA communities has demonstrated creative commitments to the cause of play. Playful City USA highlights these initiatives being developed by communities across the country. One of the primary goals of Playful City USA is to encourage cities and towns to share their creative ideas, programs and concepts to help increase play opportunities for children. Some of the initiatives include:

• Casa Grande (Ariz.) – now offers what they call Positive Lunch Activities for Youth (P.L.A.Y.) program benefiting 6th-8th graders who don’t have access to play equipment.

• Dothan (Ala.) – uses citizens in a “community build” process for all playground construction, which helps build community cohesion and spirit, and saves 20-25% on overall cost.

• Indianapolis – has launched the “Get Fit Indy” challenge this summer which encourages children to be active for 60 minutes per day, and eat nutritious foods.

• Orlando (Fl) – has increased the quantity of playspaces in town by negotiating  joint-use agreements with the local school district to open school recreation facilities to the public during non-school hours.

• Takoma Park (Md.) – has created Traveling Playgroups to provide residents with information about different recreational facilities throughout the city. They also collect citizen feedback regarding improvement needs.

KaBOOM! makes children healthier and happier by inspiring communities to build places to play walking distance of every child. Playful City USA communities helps create best practices, like the ones listed above, to reach a similar goal. They serve as role models for other communities and prove that enhancing children’s well-being by increasing the opportunity for play is an attainable goal for every community.

“An extreme misconception exists in our country that play among children is a luxury when, in fact, it’s an absolute necessity,” said Darell Hammond, KaBOOM! CEO and Co-founder. “For decades, this notion dominated our actions and we continue to see the damaging results: a monumental lack of playspaces for children and sky-rocketing childhood obesity rates. These 118 Playful City USA communities refused to adhere to the status quo and realized all children deserve a municipal commitment to the cause of play. They serve as beacons for the rest of our nation that an investment in children is an investment in our future.”

For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, including applications for next year’s contest, visit www.kaboom.org/playfulcityusa.

2010 Playful City USA Communities
Albany, Ga.
Albemarle, N.C.
^Allentown, Pa.
*Ankeny, Iowa
^Annapolis, Md.
#Arlington, Texas
*Atlanta, Ga.
^Auburn, Wash.
^Baldwin Park, Calif.
Bel Aire, Kan.
Bethlehem, Pa.
^Bismarck, N.D.
#Bloomington, Ind.
#Brentwood, Calif.
^Casa Grande, Ariz.
#Cerritos, Calif.
*Chandler, Ariz.
Chevy Chase, Md.
College Park, Ga.
^Columbia, Ill.
^Columbus, Ohio
^Commerce City, Colo.
#Coolidge, Ariz.
^Coral Gables, Fla.
*Creedmoor, N.C.
#Danville, Va.
Davenport, Iowa
Derby, Kan.
#DeRidder, La.
Doral, Fla.
*Dothan, Ala.
^Durham, N.C.
East Point, Ga.
#Encinitas, Calif.
^Euless, Texas
^Evans, Colo.
^Fishers, Ind.
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Fountain Hills, Az.
Franklin, Ind.
*Gilbert, Ariz.
#Grand Prairie, Texas
#Green River, Wyo.
*Greenbelt, Md.
^Greensboro, N.C.
^Greenville, N.C.
^Hamilton, N.J.
#Henderson, Nevada
#Hernando, Miss.
^Hilo, Hawaii
Horn Lake, Miss.
^Indianapolis, Ind.
Juneau, Alaska
Kenmore, Wash.
*Kenner, La.
*Kerman, Calif.
^Killeen, Texas
#La Mesa, Calif.
*Lake Worth, Fla.
Lakewood, Calif.
^Laramie, Wyo.
^Las Cruces, N.M.
#Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.
Lauderhill, Fla.
^Laurel, Md.
*Longview, Wash.
#Mercer Island, Wash.
^Mesa, Ariz.
Miami Gardens, Fla.
^Miami Lakes, Fla.
^Missoula, Mont.
Mount Juliet, Tenn.
#Murray, Ky.
#Nampa, Idaho
^New Port Richey, Fla.
*New Roads, La.
#New York City, N.Y.
Newport, R.I.
^Niagara Falls, N.Y.
*Norfolk, Va.
North Port, Fla.
#Northglenn, Colo.
Oak Park Heights, Minn.
Oldsmar, Fla.
#Orlando, Fla.
Ottawa, Kan.
#Palm Bay, Fla.
Palmetto Bay, Fla.
#Parkland, Fla.
*Phoenix, Ariz.
Redwood City, Calif.
Richmond Hill, Ga.
#Riverside, Calif.
Rock Hill, S.C.
Rowlett, Texas
#Safety Harbor, Fla.
^Saint Paul, Minn.
#St. Petersburg, Fla.
^San Antonio, Texas
*San Francisco, Calif.
^Sanford, N.C.
Savannah, Ga.
Scranton, Pa.
*Shirley, Mass.
*Spartanburg, S.C.
#Springdale, Ark.
Sunrise, Fla.
^Takoma Park, Md.
Tamarac, Fla.
^Tempe, Ariz.
^Thornton, Colo.
*Tucson, Ariz.
Tupelo, Miss.
#West Palm Beach, Fla.
^Wichita, Kan.
#York, Pa.
#Yorkville, Ill.
*Yuma, Ariz.

* Four-time honoree
# Three-time honoree
^ Two-time honoree

2010 Playful City USA Communities by State:
19: Florida
10: Arizona, California
6: Georgia, North Carolina, Texas
5: Indiana, Maryland
4: Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Washington
3: Louisiana, Mississippi
2: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina, Virginia, Wyoming
1: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. Through community building, KaBOOM! is focused on giving every child in the country a great place to play within walking distance. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,800 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers many resources, including an online community, free online trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and Playmakers – a national network of individual advocates for play. KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.