2007 Playful City: Atlanta, Ga.
Project Plan: Atlanta truly understands the power of rallying its community and that notion is at the forefront of its plan: “Atlanta: A Playspace for Every Child by 2010.” A three-year initiative, Atlanta’s plan will use public/private partnerships as its foundation to launch an “army” of community leaders and create the Atlanta Taskforce on Play. The city will use the KaBOOM! grant to establish an online and real world community-building/education/action program that will improve the current state of play opportunities in the city by leaps and bounds!
City Profile
- Population (2006): 486,111; ninth most populated city in the United States.
- Population under the age of 18: 101,066
- Government: Mayor (Shirley Franklin) and 15-member city council representing the city’s 12 districts and three at-large positions.
- Ranks third in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered within city boundaries.
- Founded: 1823
- More than 250,000 people commute into Atlanta every day – the most of any city in the country with a population of less than 500,000.
- The city was originally named Terminus and then Marthaville before finally settling on Atlanta.
PCUSA Initiatives
- In 2008, a Play Task Force consisting of Dept. of Parks and Recreation representatives and citizens from each of Atlanta’s neighborhoods will present a report card, grading each state and federal legislator’s commitment to play. The task force is currently developing benchmarks for the report card using the KaBOOM! commitments to play as a foundation.
The report card is designed to bring attention to the need for smart growth in Atlanta. As the area continues to attract new residents and develop at a rapid pace, the green/play space square footage continues to decline. Air quality issues (seasonal allergies and asthma) especially among children are significant, and the Play Task Force will use the report card to raise visibility around these issues and ask legislators to create a commitment to create, preserve and improve green/play spaces.
- In 2008, the Play Task Force hopes to launch atlantaplaygrounds.com. The purpose of the website is to encourage volunteer and community involvement by providing information on city play space locations and opportunities for improvement. The Atlanta Play Task Force believes community involvement is necessary to take the burden off of an already overtaxed Parks and Recreation Department and move the play agenda forward by energizing the individual voter base.