Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
streetsr4families

Playable Cities Are Livable Cities

4:59 PM EDT on June 19, 2015

Play is so important to kids’ physical, mental, and social development that the United Nations considers it a human right. But not all cities fulfill these rights equally.

Photo: Baltimore City Recreation and Parks via KaBOOM!

What the nonprofit KaBOOM! calls a playful or playable city, others might call simply a kid-friendly city. While suburbs get most of the glory for having space to play, public outdoor play spaces are even more important in cities where families have little or no yard of their own to play in.

KaBOOM! recognized 10 “playful” cities this week, many of which found success at making their neighborhoods healthier and more dynamic by coupling play with safe streets and sustainable transportation.

Brownsville, Texas, extended their Ciclovia into underserved neighborhoods this year, reportedly attracting 10,000 people. Ottawa, Kansas, is installing play pods along the Prairie Spirit rail-trail. Charlotte, North Carolina, is installing playful art along every stop of the Lynx light rail system. Thomasville, Georgia, installed hopscotch, balance lines, and other activities at bus stops. And Baltimore is targeting vacant lots for resurrection as play spaces -- and hosts one of the most joyful bike-centered events on the planet, the Kinetic Sculpture Race, which took place just last weekend.

Other cities recognized by KaBOOM! were Chicago; Pittsburgh; Columbus, Georgia; Flint, Michigan; Greenville, South Carolina; and Bismarck, North Dakota.

Play spaces aren’t just for kids. They can also be for farmers markets, performances, and neighborhood gatherings that inject public life into abandoned or underused places.

KaBOOM! President James Siegal also cautioned against positioning playability as "a competitive advantage for cities to attract and retain the creative class; particularly young college educated professionals" -- a rationale often cited for bikeability. While he said that cities will continue to lose those professionals as they have kids if they don't pay attention to play, he also hinted that if cities have only “the creative class” in mind, they risk losing sight of what he considers the primary mission of urban playability: making cities more equitable.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Are Inside Out

Cars and trucks are getting safer for drivers and passengers, but people outside the vehicles are increasingly in danger.

September 28, 2023

New Federal Committee Will Push for Transportation Equity By Helping DOT Reckon With Its Past

“No one alive today is necessarily responsible for the origins of the [transportation] inequities that we inherited. But everybody who was alive today and in a position of responsibility, is accountable for what we do about it. That's why we're here.” 

September 28, 2023

Report: America’s Historic Bike Boom is Flatlining

"This growth won't continue forever without being facilitated by more infrastructure investment, [and particularly] safety infrastructure."

September 28, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines Ask How Much a Life Is Worth

There isn't much of a financial penalty for drivers who kill pedestrians — even if those drivers are cops.

September 27, 2023

‘I’m Not Grieving Alone’: New Play Explores a Father’s Journey After Losing Two Children to Traffic Violence

Colin Campbell and his wife Gail Lerner lost both their children in a car crash with impaired driver. A new play explores how to talk about similar tragedies.

September 27, 2023
See all posts