Redwood City is proud to announce that it has earned national recognition as a 2011 Playful City USA, presented by nationwide non-profit park and play advocate, KaBOOM! This is a national awards program honoring cities and towns determined to prioritize play and ensure that children are healthy by providing the time and space for play. This year, KaBOOM! designated 151 cities across the country, including Redwood City, as a Playful City USA community, for each city’s efforts to increase play opportunities for children.
Redwood City was recognized by KaBOOM! for its devotion to children’s athletics, recreation, and providing opportunities for play, as well as for making a commitment to play and physical activity toward increasing the quantity and quality of play in our community. All of the 2011 award-winning Playful City USA communities 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, even in difficult budget times.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is important to healthy brain development and allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generations in part because only 20-percent live within walking distance of a park or playground. This Play Deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically as well as mentally and socially because children need a place to play every day in order to be active and healthy.
A key platform in combating the Play Deficit is Playful City USA, a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children. KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the Play Deficit by ensuring their children have the time and space they need to play. Redwood City was selected in 2010 and 2011 for its outstanding dedication to play, and its efforts to provide safe and enriching places for kids to play by creating joint-use agreements with local schools. The city is able to offer after-school programming and increase access to other recreational facilities.
More information about KaBOOM! is available at www.kaboom.org/playfulcityusa