A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control indicates that lack of parks and places to play is effecting children, their weight and contributing to childhood obesity crisis.

The report called the State Indicator Report on Physical Activity 2010 points out that about 1 in 5 children have a park within a half mile from their home. Teens face a similiar obstacle to exercise as fewer than 1 in 5 have daily physical education in their h…

Do you think school playgrounds should be open after hours for public use? Does your community need more practice space for youth sports teams? Would you like to take your child/grandchild to the local school playground instead of across town to a public park?

If you support this type of change check out the new website and information on Joint Use Agreements where community agencies and schools share their facilities. Newsletter sign up for J…

A joint use agreement is a formal agreement between two separate government entities—often a school district and a city or county—setting forth the terms and conditions for the shared use of public property. A school may use the park located adjacent to the school for physical education classes or a park may use a school's basketball courts for a city parks and recreation basketball league. Both examples represent a "joint-use situat…

Imagination Playground is a place where kids will exercise their minds as well as their muscles.
A unique joining of private and public entities in order to provide a new playground model for cities. The first that I've heard of is this one in New York City where the Rockwell Group and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation have collaborated to create a new playground model that is a dynamic alternative to more traditional play …

A RAND Corporation study says school playgrounds can be important tools in the fight against childhood obesity. However, many are locked and inaccessible to children on weekends – especially in poor and minority neighborhoods.

The study called the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) found that, on average, 66 percent of the schools were unlocked on weekends. But only 57 percent of schools were both unlocked and had accessible faciliti…

Los Angeles COUNTY: Overweight kids more likely to be found in poorer cities with less park space.

By Melissa Evans, Staff Writer, Long Beach Press Telegram

Never has the link between poverty and child obesity been more apparent.

A new report from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health shows that the richest cities with the most public open space have the lowest rates of obese children. By contrast, cities with larger low-income populat…

New parks are emphasising adult needs over those of children. New parks are primarily for aging baby boomers who want trails more than playgrounds. As demand for parks grows, fewer and fewer children are playing in parks - largely because frightened parents won't let them outside unsupervised, experts say.
In her classic 1982 study of America's parks, "The Politics of Parks," she identified four types of park design, introduced…