Growing a Movement for Playability in Cities

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, KaBOOM!, in partnership with the Humana Foundation, announces 212 cities and towns across the United States as 2014 Playful City USA honorees. These communities are leaders in playability – the extent to which a city makes it easy for kids to get balanced and active play – and are making play part of the solution that can move the needle on countless urban challenges.

The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, sponsored by the Humana Foundation, honors cities, towns and communities across America that are taking bold steps to ensure that all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. Cities being recognized today span every region of the country, and include Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Nashville; Austin; Providence; San Francisco; New York City; and 205 others.

To advance the national dialogue on playability, KaBOOM! invites interest, expertise, and voices from across the country to get involved (and get playful!) in thinking about how play can create more family-friendly cities. Join the Twitter conversation and encourage action:

• Participate on Twitter (@kaboom) and provide your point of view and forward-looking insights on playability in cities using the hashtags #playability and #playmatters.

"With the tremendous support of our friends at Humana Foundation, we are thrilled to recognize all of these communities that are working to ensure all kids, particularly the 16 million that live in poverty, get the play they need to thrive," says KaBOOM! CEO and Founder Darell Hammond.

Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard added, "We're excited about our journey with KaBOOM! and we appreciate the shared values that Humana, the Humana Foundation, and the KaBOOM! organization can rally around. Making it easy for families to play, be healthy and thrive together is a part of Humana's dream, and it's a commitment that all of us at Humana enjoy sharing with KaBOOM!." 

The Playful City USA honorees range in size from eight-time honorees such as San Francisco and Shirley, Mass., to first-time recipients Washington, D.C. and Plantersville, Miss. (population: 1,174). These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to transform their communities to become more playable by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community. Other city initiatives include:

• Increasing City Playability for All Kids: Chicago, Ill. has made a goal for every child living in the city to be within a seven-minute walk of a new park or playground.
• Encouraging Play Everywhere: San Antonio, Texas partnered with SA Sports in the SPARK Park program, which turns elementary and middle school properties into playspaces outside school hours, reinforcing that kids want and need play everywhere.
• Creating a Competitive Advantage through Play: Bloomington, Ind. sees playability as the third piece to complement walkability and bikeability and boost the city's competitive advantage. The city plans to increase accessibility and availability of safe sidewalks, parks and play infrastructure.
• Promoting a Balance of All Types of Play: Orlando, Fla. is developing The Vision for Play in the City of Orlando initiative that will guide actions and investments over the next 20 years to provide a healthy urban play environment that promotes all types of play for all kids, which is critical to cognitive, creative, social, emotional and physical development.
• Inspiring Family-Centric Play: Missoula, Mont. is installing fun, creative programs so children can play in a safe, fun and nurturing family and community-centric environment. To encourage more play opportunities for families and communities to enjoy, the city has designated an annual Play Day, a KidsFest celebration in the fall as well as youth summer camps to keep kids engaged in active play.
• Using Play to Help Address Toxic Stress: Washington, D.C. recognizes its underserved youth are faced with physical, social and mental health challenges that directly impact their quality of life and their ability to cope with adversity. Kids growing up in the face of significant adversity are at risk of toxic stress, which hinders healthy brain development. Through the Play DC and Parks and Recreation Master Plan initiatives, the city is redefining playgrounds as community spaces where youth can find release from everyday stress and build resilience.
• Fostering 21^st Century Skills through Play: Pittsburgh, Pa. realizes play is critical to developing kids into healthy and successful adults, including preparing kids to be innovators, collaborators and problem-solvers. The city plans to consider play in every educational and community decision that is made to ensure all Pittsburgh kids are prepared to succeed.

To see the full list of the 212 communities named 2014 Playful City USA honorees, or for more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.  

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold new goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the balance of active play they need to become healthy and successful adults. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play, inspires, empowers and leads play advocates, and educates and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children's lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

About the Humana Foundation

The Humana Foundation was established in 1981 as the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc., one of the nation's leading health care companies. Located in Louisville, Ky., the site of Humana's corporate headquarters, the Foundation promotes healthy behaviors and healthy relationships. The Foundation's key funding priorities are childhood health, intergenerational health, and active lifestyles. For more information, visit www.humanafoundation.org.

Humana and the Humana Foundation are dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility. Our goal is to ensure that every business decision we make reflects our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our members, our associates, the communities we serve, and our planet.

Contact:
Mfa, Ltd., (212) 528-1691
Erin Curtis, [email protected] 
Silvie Snow-Thomas, [email protected] 

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SOURCE KaBOOM!

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