Schoolyards to Playgrounds

By mapping areas that lack open space and have a high ratio of children per playground, the Bloomberg administration has identified school playgrounds as opportunities to increase access to open space for all New Yorkers. Mayor Bloomberg has pledged to open 266 schoolyards in underserved neighborhoods and has committed $56.7 million in capital funding for playground improvements. By opening schoolyards after school, on weekends, and during school breaks, these playgrounds will be available to approximately 360,000 New York children by 2010 and help ensure that all New Yorkers live within a 10–minute walk of a playground or park.

The Parks Department has teamed up with the Department of Education (DOE) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL), which works in cities across America to conserve land so that people may enjoy local parks, playgrounds, and natural areas. Working together, the Parks Department, DOE, and TPL will turn over 160 schoolyards into model community parks through a participatory design process with the school community that involves children, parents, and teachers. This design process facilitates exciting inter–agency and community coordination and opens up dialogue to ensure continued success with the Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative.

Sixty–nine playgrounds which did not need capital improvements were opened July 1, 2007. As of summer 2009, there have been 21 additional sites that have been renovated and are now open to the public.

In the News: Mayor Bloomberg Cuts Ribbon on New "Schoolyards to Playgrounds" Project

In the News: Mayor Bloomberg Launches Second Phase of Schoolyards to Playgrounds Project

My Schoolyard

The New York City Parks Department, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, asked students to think about what elements they want in their new playgrounds. During this process, the students have to consider several elements including the best interests of the student body, the school’s faculty and staff, the neighborhood as a whole, and the general costs of the redesign.

The comments below represent just a sampling of design day experiences from the over 130 schools that participated in the program. In all, hundreds of elementary and middle school students between the ages of 7 and 15 learned what it’s like to be a landscape architect for a day.

Click on an image to see a comment from a student or teacher.

Students at P.S. 69Q designing the new playground

The final design of the P.S. 69Q playground

Students at P.S. 69Q designing the new playground

I felt very happy and excited to design my own playground because I love designing things and now my design will help design a playground. I contributed the snake bench to the new playground. I learned that first you need to design the playground before you build it. You need to like what you design [and] create a rough draft before you put together a permanent design. I think that my community will like having their own playground to play in. I think they will like it because now they will have a place to play in after a long school week. I think they will enjoy playing in the playground.

— Nibras Islam, Grade 3

The final design of the P.S. 69Q playground

P.S. 69Q students and teachers were very excited about being involved in the design of our schoolyard renovation. It was wonderful to see the creativity that the children brought to Design Day. Their ideas were on target with our needs, and we were all made to feel that our ideas were useful and valid. Design Day allowed students, teachers, and community the chance to add our personal hopes, dreams, and creativity to a project that is literally ‘in our backyard.’ Design Day gave us ownership. As a teacher, I look forward to the expansion of our school facility to include learning spaces outdoors. With the addition of the stage, planting area, and the track I can envision several classes utilizing the yard at the same time.

— Ms. Nancy Hill, a teacher at P.S. 69Q

The final design of the P.S. 69Q playground

I felt so happy that I was going to design the playground because I got to choose what will be in it. I contributed the mini theater idea. The new playground will bring smiles on the other children’s faces because this playground is not an ordinary playground. I learned that the design team has worked with many schools making their playgrounds from plain to amazing.

— Nafisa Shahjada, Grade 5

The final design of the P.S. 69Q playground

I wanted to add a sign to the playground that said ‘Welcome to P.S. 69Q Community and Neighborhood Park’ to make everyone feel welcome. I think that it will bring more kids to the park so they can make new friends and have a great time. I learned that you can always be creative and use your own special imagination. This was a great experience for me. I LOVE PlaNYC!

— Mariela Parra, Grade 4

Before & After

Click on any photo to learn more about that project