Planner Sharon Danks says that as playgrounds become less challenging due to concerns over liability, kids invent their own, far more dangerous uses for the equipment.
Grist interviews Danks about her new book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation
Danks thinks that playgrounds can teach kids to understand natural processes and make them more informed citizens:
"If a school treats water responsibly, produces some of its own energy, has space for wildlife habitat, and makes some of its own food, kids understand from an early age how these things work and learn to value them."
Read the full story: How to build a better playground
Historic Queens park is getting a $120M upgrade
The borough's largest park will undergo significant upgrades for accessibility, flood mitigation and historic preservation.
Obama Center opens nation's first presidential playground
The 21,000-square-foot play space is the first of its kind to be attached to a presidential library.
Private Donations Propel Early Restoration of Palisades Playground
Los Angeles has secured over $1.3 million in private funding to restore the Pacific Palisades playground months ahead of schedule, creating a modern, accessible space that supports community healing after recent wildfires.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Data reveals that NYC’s bet on congestion pricing has paid off
After almost two years of the program, reports show positive impacts on traffic and air quality and no disruptions to parking.
Denver is solving homelessness. Why aren't the rest of us?
Since 2023, Denver's street homeless population has decreased by 64%, proving that effective tools exist to support those in need of housing.
Will sprawl save California?
California residents will vote on Proposition 45 in November, which would make it easier to build large housing developments on the outskirts of the state’s cities.
Texas suburbs are popping up around old oil wells. Some are starting to leak
Several plugged wells in Texas have failed in recent years, endangering those who unknowingly settled nearby.
This Chicago neighborhood is using planning to increase life expectancy
The Garfield Park Quality-Of-Life Plan aims to bring residents everything from easier access to fresh food to revitalized commercial corridors.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority