Cuts to parks and playgrounds are damaging to kids, adults

Just when we most need an escape from the pressures of life in 2009, Atlanta’s parks are getting hammered with budget cuts. Recreation centers and programs are being shut down, maintenance programs that directly affect park safety are being cut back, much-needed playgrounds aren’t getting built and our children and families will suffer because of it all. People wrongly think that play is a luxury and a low priority in times like these. It must be that old Puritan work ethic. But, the truth is that in this time of enormous stress, the opportunity to play in and make full use of our city’s limited park space is more important than ever. It’s as simple as this: parks + play = healthier children (and grownups, too).

The cuts to park and recreation budgets are not just happening here in Atlanta. It’s a problem all over the country. The renowned Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation department has had staff cuts; Phoenix’s parks department alone is being required to provide 20 percent of that city’s budget cuts; San Francisco’s deep cuts included the loss of park employees with decades of experience; and Los Angeles is preparing for rec center closings and cuts to park maintenance.

Even before the cuts, Atlanta was severely underserved in public places to play. In spite of extraordinary efforts cleaning up and expanding our park system over the past seven years we still lag behind comparable cities. The nonprofit park and greenspace advocate organization, Park Pride, recently released “The 2008 State of Atlanta’s Parks” which places Atlanta 25th out of the 25 largest cities in percent of land dedicated to parks. When you look at the public playgrounds available to our children, we fall even farther down the list. According to the Park Pride report, the standard ratio is one playground for every 2,500 citizens. In 2005 Atlanta had one for every 4,255, reflecting a deficit of 79 playgrounds. By the year 2030, the report projects one playground for every 6,887 leaving us 198 playgrounds short. Currently, vast areas of southwest and north Atlanta have no public playgrounds and no parks. It’s as if half of the city has been deemed a “no play zone”.

It is not for lack of trying that Atlanta has fallen behind. After an intensive four-year effort by the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to meet 155 standards of excellence, Atlanta is the proud new recipient of accreditation status from the National Parks and Recreation Association. Lack of effort at DPRCA is not the problem. The problem is that few truly understand the importance of getting our children outside playing and so cut park spending.

Play is an optimal state of being for children and is a critical part of a healthy childhood. It is so important that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has proclaimed play the right of every child, and there are few places better to exercise this right than outdoors in a park and a playground. It is through play that children explore, learn, develop, grow and blossom. Through play, children test their boundaries and learn about evaluating physical and social risk. They learn important socialization skills like negotiation. Free, unstructured play is important to the development of creativity in children, and some studies even show it makes kids smarter and lessens the impact of ADHD. It is through play that children begin to find out who they are and explore ideas of who they want to be.

Taking further funding away from our parks, playgrounds and recreation centers is a temporary fix that will yield permanent damage to our children. So let city hall know just how important healthy play opportunities are to you. If enough people speak up, they’ll listen. But, don’t stop there. We are responsible for getting things done, too, and it can be a lot of fun to make a difference here.

Whatever action you come up with, take it! Understand how important it is for kids (young and old) to get outside and play. Tell your neighbor, call your city council member, and do something to preserve what we have, and then keep on going until Atlanta is the greenest, healthiest and most playful city there is.

> Cynthia Gentry is founding director of the Atlanta Taskforce on Play.