Places to Play

A perspective on playspace equity and early learning for Philadelphia’s youngest children.

Introduction

Playspaces are a critical part of the infrastructure of childhood. High-quality places to play offer children opportunities to get physical activity, build social skills, and use their imagination. While the importance of play opportunities is widely recognized, many children still lack access to safe places to play, especially in communities of color and lower-income communities. Playspaces, a term that encompasses both conventional playgrounds as well as less traditional spaces that encourage play, serve a critical role in providing children with the landscape they need to grow.  

These spaces are especially important for children ages 0-6. During these years, children rapidly develop critical skills they need for their future success, and research shows that playspaces help build the foundation for their physical, cognitive, and social emotional growth. 

  • Physical Health:  Outdoor play, such as playing on playgrounds, provides the best opportunity for physical activity and motor skills development for many children ages 0-6 ( Koepp et al. 2022 ). Age-appropriate play equipment has been shown to help children develop muscle strength and coordination ( Sutterby and Frost 2002 ).   
  • Cognitive Development & Learning: Physical activity and outdoor play has been linked to increased school readiness in preschoolers ( Becker et al. 2018 ). Children who get more activity tend to have better attention spans and memory recall, as play promotes executive function, which is the process of learning ( Yogman et al. 2018 ). Social interactions through play also contributes to critical-thinking, creativity, and language development skills ( Zosh et al. 2017 ).
  • Social and Emotional Skills: Playspaces provide young children a foundational opportunity to practice social emotional skills, heavily contributing to their success and wellbeing in many facets of life beyond the playground. Engaging in play is an age-appropriate learning opportunity for children to practice self-regulation behaviors which they then apply in other settings ( Bodrova and Leong 2008 ). Young children who engaged in pretend play in their early developmental period are found to be more prosocial in later periods of life ( Spivak and Howes 2011 ). Children also develop skills they need to deal with toxic-stress through play ( Yogman et al. 2018 ).   

While the benefits of play for young children are well documented, far too many children – especially children of color – miss out on access to quality playspaces where they live, learn, and play. A recent Review of Studies and Data on Playspace Equity for Children completed by KABOOM!, NC State University, and the College of Charleston ( Huang et al. 2022 )  identified four primary themes regarding equity in access and quality of playspaces available for youth:  

1. Lower socio-economic status (SES) and racial and ethnic minorities appear to have more limited access to playspaces for children’s play in neighborhoods, parks, and schools, compared to higher SES and non-Hispanic white. 2. In some communities, access distance to playspaces is equitable, but the quality of facilities and amenities within playspaces is inequitable and restricts opportunities for play. 3. Adverse physical and social conditions in some low-income and racial and ethnic diverse neighborhoods may limit access to playspaces, such as limited public and active transportation opportunities, personal safety concerns, lack of inclusion, and low public awareness. 4. Disparities in access and quality of playspaces could result from historical and contemporary forms of systemic racism, such as racially discriminatory land use and housing policies.

These themes, which disproportionally impact low-resourced communities and communities of color, bar children from access to quality playspaces, limiting their ability to gain the multitude of benefits derived from play.   

To further our understanding of playspace inequities across Philadelphia,  KABOOM!  and  Child Care Aware ®  of America  (CCAoA) partnered together to create the 2023 Playspace Equity Story Map for the City of Philadelphia. KABOOM! and CCAoA believe that playspaces are a developmental necessity for children ages 0-6 and that access to quality playspaces in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and child care facilities will benefit all children and families. KABOOM! and CCAoA created this Story Map to understand the landscape of Playspace Equity in Philadelphia for children ages 0-6 and to identify priority areas for investment of playspaces through an equity-informed approach.  


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1. Mapping Access and Identifying Areas of Priority

Mapping Priority Spaces for Early Learning Investment

East Parkside's priority score: 19.84

KABOOM! and CCAoA’s overall goal was to develop a map of priority spaces for early learning investments for Philadelphia’s youngest children ages 0-6, especially those in child care settings. To do this, we analyzed demographic data, locations of existing playspaces and other early learning infrastructure, and locations of child care. The final results produced "Priority Scores” which, when displayed on a map, help identify census tracts, neighborhoods, and planning throughout the city that are a priority for early learning playspace investments. The lighter the purple, the lower the priority score. The darker the purple, the higher the priority score, suggesting the need for increased investment in early learning playspaces.


2. Child Care Access to Playspaces

Playspace Access and Barriers Child Care Centers Face  

A solution to addressing these barriers is to provide quality playspaces for ECE centers on site. However, our survey found that only 31% of ECE providers have an outdoor playspace at their center and some respondents expressed difficulty with the cost of installation of playground equipment. The low number of respondents who indicated they have their own on-site outdoor playgrounds and challenges with installation costs point to the need for greater access to local public playspaces and addressing the issue of walkability for child care providers.

Mapping Walkability + Access for ECEs 

Because most child care providers lack their own outdoor playspace, walkability to local public playspaces is critical for ensuring access to outdoor play for our youngest children. KABOOM! and CCAoA measured playspace accessibility and closeness by using mapping software to calculate the walking distance between each child care provider and its nearest existing playground. These distances were factored into the priority scores described above.  

The map on the left shows child care facilities' walkability to playgrounds. The darker the purple, the more distance between child care facilities and the nearest playground. The map to the right shows census tracts of average walking distance from child care provider to the nearest playground. The color scheme is similar to the child care facilities; the darker the color, the further the walking distance.

Looking at the planning district level, child care providers in the West Park, Lower Northeast, and Upper North planning districts of the city appear to have the greatest distance to travel on foot to reach a playground. Child care providers located most centrally in the city, especially those in the Lower North planning district, seem to have more accessible existing playgrounds nearby. 

To understand more about the calculation of the child care to playspace distances, see our  technical documentation .

Spotlight: ECE Walkability in Higher and Lower Priority Neighborhoods 

The differences in walkability for child care providers can also be seen on the neighborhood  level. Juniata Park, one of the highest priority neighborhoods in the city and part of a strand of highest priority neighborhoods in North Philadelphia, shows the challenges child care providers can have in accessing outdoor playspaces. The median walking distance from child care providers in the neighborhood to the nearest playground is 0.44 miles. Almost half a mile, nearly two laps around a football field, is a very long way for child care providers to walk with children through busy urban streets, especially considering that the majority of the providers in Junita Park are family or group homes.

This stands in contrast to the Old Kensington neighborhood, where the median walking distance from child care facilities to outdoor playspaces is 0.10 miles. Five of the seven providers in the neighborhood have a walk of less than a half lap around a football field to the nearest playground. These providers, all child care centers, have a relatively comfortable walk to playgrounds only a few blocks away. This is a very different story of playspace equity compared to what we see in the Juniata Park neighborhood. 


3. Consulting Community

Adding the Qualitative to the Quantitative 

To validate and contextualize the playspace equity map, KABOOM! partnered with a local Philadelphia-based consultant to interview more than 25 representatives from 11 of the higher-priority neighborhoods. Residents who we interviewed overwhelmingly validated the map and affirmed the need for playspace investment in their communities. In addition to validating the mapping results, residents shared key insights into the unique barriers and challenges they face in accessing quality playspaces.  

Key Learnings from Neighborhood Stakeholders 

Residents hold knowledge of neighborhood characteristics and the barriers to play in their areas. We found that the qualitative interviews showed that each neighborhood had unique and complicated situations, and barriers to play that weren’t represented in our map, such as safety of walking routes, quality of playspaces in their areas, and information about residents use or lack of use of local playground spaces. These insights are critical in developing a thorough understanding of a neighborhood and imperative for those considering early learning playspace investments. 

Some neighborhoods have higher levels of community involvement, while in other neighborhoods it’s a challenge to get interest and participation. While residents expressed varying degrees of community involvement in their neighborhoods, nearly all of the interviewed stakeholders expressed the necessity and value of soliciting community input in the process of planning and designing future playspace investments in their communities. Neighborhood leaders who expressed a lack of involvement from residents cited similar issues, such as time constraints on hardworking families and the difficulty of developers and landlords creating transient communities, compared to long-term residents and single-family ownership.

Neighbors want to strengthen their community’s assets, but there are concerns about gentrification. Development of any kind, including investments in playgrounds and early learning playspaces, may add to the risk of gentrification in communities that have faced historic disinvestment. Many local leaders shared with us various efforts within their communities to maintain affordable housing and fight the displacement of current residents and they expressed the need for investments to be built for the current children of their communities, not future waves of newcomers.  

Residents’ mental maps of neighborhoods can vary from the city’s official neighborhood dataset. In Philadelphia neighborhoods are important local places that evoke strong and sometimes complicated senses of belonging for residents. Neighborhoods are tricky spaces to define as people may not always agree on their exact borders, or even on the name of their neighborhood. For the purposes of this map we utilized Philadelphia’s  official neighborhood spatial dataset  as of 2022 to create neighborhood borders for this project. But, as we found in our conversations with local stakeholders, neighborhood boundaries are changing and best defined by residents themselves.


4. Suggested Strategies

Where Kids Live, Learn and Play:  

Our map indicates that many young children in Philadelphia (ages 0-6) are missing out on access to quality playspaces in their neighborhoods and early childcare centers. Nearly 40% of surveyed early childcare providers lacked access to an on-site or off-site playground and nearly one third of Philadelphia’s census tracts do not have a playground. 

Addressing these equity gaps demands that we look beyond individual projects or programs and adopt a comprehensive, equitable, and holistic approach. Children spend only an estimated 20% of their waking hours in school, so while it’s important to build playspaces at ECE and PreK centers where kids learn, it’s also essential to create playspaces in the neighborhoods where kids live, and in the parks and libraries where kids play. Our vision for playspace equity in Philadelphia (shown on the right) is to provide young children with a “surround sound” of play and early learning opportunities in the spaces where they spend time.  

A Data-Informed Approach and a Commitment to Racial Equity:

In order to end playspace inequity, we must first understand where inequities exist and the communities impacted. Through efforts such as mapping playspace access and assessing playspace quality, which take a data-informed approach with a commitment to racial equity, organizations, systems, and partners can address the issue of playspace inequity by directing resources and investments to the highest priority communities.

Looking ahead we hope that policymakers, city leaders, planners and change makers use this story map as a tool to inform investment in play, learning, and recreational infrastructure. By taking a more targeted approach that focuses on priority neighborhoods, we can coordinate efforts to infuse play and learning opportunities into areas where there is the greatest need for playspaces and the greatest potential for transformative impact.  

Leverage Public and Private Partnerships:   

Click the arrow to the right to scroll through the different opportunities under the umbrella of the Office of Children and Families.

Playspace inequity is a significant problem, but it is solvable. Creating play spaces where children live, learn, and play demands that Philadelphia’s public and private partners come together to create comprehensive, equitable and holistic strategies. 

Click on the legend to see what each layer represents. Click the arrow (right) to learn more.

Philadelphia is already a national model for innovative and impactful solutions to address playspace inequities through 1.) community-driven programs like Play Streets and Play Parks, 2.) built environment projects, such as Rebuild Philly, Play Everywhere Challenge, the Literacy Rich Neighborhoods Initiative, and 3.) the hiring of a Playful Learning Fellow to support and strategize scaling efforts at the systems level.

Now is the time to maximize and integrate Philadelphia's efforts and bring them to scale. Specific opportunities include integrating playful learning principles into  Rebuild  project sites, PHL PreK locations, Community Schools, Philadelphia Free Libraries, parks, recreation centers, and other public spaces dedicated to Philadelphia's children and families. Our map indicates 15 priority neighborhoods in which there are over 39 locations owned by the Office of Children & Families, showing that one public partnership has the potential to reach countless children experiencing playspace inequity. 

As a national nonprofit organization, KABOOM! fosters strong partnerships at the national, regional, and local levels and across public and private sectors to build support, provide resources, and mobilize people power toward the shared goal of ending playspace inequity. It is our hope that we can join together with Philadelphia region partners to enact the strategies we are suggesting here and work together to address playspace inequity in the city of Philadelphia. 

Scroll down to learn more suggested strategies.

The Power of Playful Learning: 

Philadelphia is a hub for Playful Learning: a research-backed approach to infusing play and learning goals into the built environment to support learning and developmental growth for children and families. Our map shows that there are 16 playful learning spaces in Philadelphia as of November 2022, thanks to the efforts of the Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network, KABOOM! and many others, as well as support from The William Penn Foundation.  

Research about some of these playful learning spaces suggests that they can encourage certain types of caregiver-child interactions known to aid future language and STEM learning ( Hassinger-Das et al. 2020 ) and 90% of caregivers who visited Play Everywhere play spaces in Philadelphia reported that their children learned new skills ( Hirsch et al. 2020 ), which speak to the potential to use playful learning installations as a strategy for both addressing playspace equity and supporting early childhood development skills.     

While playful learning installations have tremendous potential to address playspace equity gaps, there is a need to scale and more strategically target these efforts. In this regard, Philadelphia is on a good trajectory: 69% (11 / 16) of installations are located in higher-priority neighborhoods, and 2 (13%) are in the top 10% highest priority neighborhoods.     

As the field of playful learning in Philadelphia continues to grow, we hope to see our Playspace Equity map used to inform decision making, site selection, and even more equitable distribution of installations.  

Further Mapping, Data and Survey Work:  

We encourage further endeavors to use data-driven and community engaged research methods to continue to advance early childhood access and equity nationwide. It’s important to recognize that quantitative data is a valuable starting point for understanding the equitable distribution of playspaces in a city, but it alone doesn't provide a complete picture of a community. Residents of the identified areas need to be engaged to provide qualitative context and better understand the challenges they face and the solutions they envision.  

On another note, the lack of playspace quality data was a limitation in this study. It would be beneficial to have more information about the quality of existing playgrounds to better understand the opportunities for improvement.  

Both KABOOM! and CCAoA will continue to use data-driven and community engaged research methods to advance early childhood access and equity nationwide. And, we encourage you to take the methods, ideas, and principles discussed here and implement them in your work.


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Credits

This map was created in partnership with  KABOOM!   and  Child Care Aware® of America .

Funding for this project provided through generous support from  Vanguard Strong Start for Kids™ .

Support and guidance was provided by Heidi Segall Levy at  Watchdog Project Management  ,  the Early Learning Resource Center of Region 18   and the  Office of Children and Families   throughout this project.

Many thanks to those who contributed data and informed our approach:  Philadelphia Parks and Recreation ,  OpenStreetMap , and  the Philadelphia Housing Authority .

Special thanks to all those who contributed feedback on our early renditions of the map: Katie Barghaus, Jenny Bogoni, Leigh Ann Cambell, Grace Cannon, Chris Caputo, Diane Castelbuono, Francesco Cerrai, Angela E. Dixon, Tess Donie, Roberto Duarte, Megan Funk, Diane Getzinger, Sakinah Hearn, Frank Iannuzzi, Darby Mann, Patrick Morgan, Aparna Palantino, Sean Perkins, Elisa Ruse-Esposito, Lisa Schultz, Michelle Shuman, Kira Strong, and Rachael Todaro.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of The William Penn Foundation, Playful Learning Landscapes Landscape Action Network, and Rachael Todaro, who reviewed content.

We’d like to express our deep appreciation to the over 25 community members from 11 neighborhoods (East Parkside, Wister, Fairhill, Upper Kensington, Bartram Village, McGuire, Paschall, Harrowgate, Juniata Park, SW Germantown, and Germantown Westside) who shared their reactions to the map, stories of play in their communities, and added qualitative feedback to our narrative.

Data Sources and Methodology