the police athletic league

The Police Athletic League is a non-profit organization which runs afterschool and summer programs for kids in inner-city neighborhoods. Though it was started by a Police Commissioner in 1914, it's not really staffed by police anymore. In the beginning, there were only "playstreets," which are blocked-off streets where unsupervised kids can play in the summer, guarded by friendly police officers. Playstreets are still around. These work to reduce prejudice, because often inner-city residents are biased against cops because of negative experiences that they or people that they know have had with law enforcement. The friendly and protective presence of cops would have certainly made the kids playing at the playstreets have a more neutral to positive view of cops.

My father worked for the PAL for almost all of his adult life, starting as a camp counselor and moving up to the director of counseling for all the afterschool centers in NYC. He worked in Hell's Kitchen as a counselor in the seventies, when there was still a really bad gang problem there amongst the Irish residents. Many of my dad's campers were the younger siblings of gang members, and they didn't respect my dad (who was from Connecticut, and straight out of college). In order to get their respect, my dad decided to get as good as he could at pool, a game that all the kids apparently revered. He played at pool halls for months, and finally was able to show off his skills to the kids at the pool table at the PAL center. With this, he could connect with the kids. I think this is a good demonstration of the contact hypothesis, because when the kids realized that my dad had a skill that they wanted, and when they felt that he was relatable, they were more willing to give them the time of day, and their respect.

Mix it up at Lunch Day

Mixit up at Lunch Day is a non-profit program launched by Teaching Tolerance a decade ago. This program, founded by southern poverty Law Center, aims to reduce a variety of prejudices in School setting all across the country.  

From their national survey, they found that outside classrooms, inside the school fences, cafeteria have been identified as the place where divisions are most clearly drawn. This program encourages students to take a new seat in the cafeteria at October 30. This one day, students can cross the lines of division, interact with new people outside their normal social circles. 

Mix it up give direction to schools about how to arrange the sitting and what kind of discussion topic will ensure a comfortable conversation during the lunch. By doing so, it increased awareness about social boundaries and divisions within school, so students are able to identify, question and cross social boundaries. When students interact with those who are different from their previous perceptions, prejudice, biases and misperceptions can decrease.

Reducing Prejudice- Big Brother Big Sister

One non-profit project that I find particularly successful in reducing a variety of prejudices is the Big Brother Big Sister Program. This program, started over 100 years ago, pairs children, ages 6-18, facing adversity with adult volunteers who guide these children, provide positive experiences and give these children someone to look up to. Although the pairings, themselves, are not necessarily arranged as a way of bringing two prejudice groups together, the adults and children involved in this program come from all backgrounds and walks of life and bond and interact so that the reduction of any preconceived prejudices between these two different people is made very possible. Although the program is ultimately intended to better the lives of the children, the adult also has the potential to gain and learn a lot from the Big/Little sibling relationship.

Here is a link to a page describing their mission, main goals, and their successes.

bad and good playgrounds

This playground is in New Jersey and it's called "Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park." This is one of the best playgrounds I've seen in Jersey and it's fairly new. The equipment is awesome and there is such a fantasy feel to this place. I'm sure kids feel like they are in a whole new world when playing in here. At least that's how I would feel playing in playgrounds haha. The variety of activity seems like a great place to bring in different kids to interact and play games together.


Again this playground is in New Jersey where I am trying to focus on since my project takes place there. This playground also is one of the best and has this fantasy play land feel to it that I really appreciate. The area it is located in Monmouth County, which has a great diversity of people and it would be great to see all these people get together in a big communal space. There multiple parking spaces and it is close to the water, so great for summer time.












One of childhood playgrounds growing up was Duke Island Park in New Jersey. It is an amazing mix of ages and people from all boroughs. The park is very big so there is room for many activities such as playgrounds for kids, grills for cook outs, volleyball court, tennis court, open fields with soccer nets and a gorgeous trail to walk around the entire landscape. There are concerts that are put on the little stage they have in the middle of the park. Many local talent perform there and it is just a great time for families and friends to get together.






this is depressing and really absurd to have these be a community playground for little kids. These playgrounds are rusting, dangerous and empty. Having color and whimsy to playgrounds adds a huge part to a kids imagination and experience to playing in a playground with other kids. I feel that kids playing in a playground can feel like a big journey in a place unknown and meeting other kids to complete tasks with you. But if the park is dangerous and bare then what will that show kids?

Playgrounds

Good Playgrounds:

This design  is minimalist and at the same time would be interesting to climb from a child's point of view. 

I have a younger niece. She likes to climb on things. It would probably be entertaining for younger kids because climbing a variety of levels would probably be adventurous. 

How water is added to a classic equipment makes it more interesting visually and actively. 

Bad Playgrounds: 

 The sculpture is most likely questionable from parents' point of view. 

 The swing is unstable and most likely hazardous. The sculptures also are kind of creepy. 

Generally unappealing. I know there are some kids that love the dirt. I was the one that didn't so it doesn't really appeal to a general audience.

playgrounds

This playground in Germany is just the type of place I would have liked to play as a kid. I love the dreamy atmosphere, it's really like being in a different world.

This playground in Spain (the link is to a video) is extremely interactive, and fun for all ages. Everyone has to work together to make the tightrope contraption move back and forth, and the other eqiupment also requires group effort. The slide also looks really fun.

This London playground is just really aesthetically pleasing. I like the shiny odd round shapes, and I think that kids would too. This is a pretty traditional climbing playground, but its look makes it extra attractive.

Now, for the ones I don't like:

This playground in Vancouver is good for teaching kids about plants and being green, I guess (there is a compost for the kids snacks), but it doesn't look like much fun. After a couple minutes of jumping from log to log (and maybe falling), I would be out of here.

I guess this school "playground"is meant to spark the kids' imaginations, so that they can make up new games based on the lines on the ground. But can you imagine getting out at recess, just wanting to play, and having to make up a new game based on some lines? And there's not even anything to climb on.

Are you kidding me with this? This jumping girl looks like she's going to hurt herself. That kid with the red ball is just staring at his ball because he's so bored by the equipment.

Best/Worst Playgrounds

Adventure Playground opened in Berkeley California in 1979. It's an outdoor play structure with a multitude of structures to climb and play on. What I find more interesting about this set in particular is the encouragement for a different kind of child creativity, where children are actually able to build and construct different things from their imagination, using a variety of tools and materials found on the grounds themselves - a realization that the designer came to when he saw children playing in the dirt and rubble of post-WWII battle zones. Ultimately, it allows children to imagine and construct their own environments - something which I am looking to do with my own playground design.



The Alexander W. Kemp Playground is another playground that is designed to promote creativity and collaboration. Again containing a multitude of structures to climb and play on, this area also provides children with a number of different other creative materials - such as sand and water. I read a parent comment on the site that spoke about how her child had gotten involved with 10 other children in a project to build a dam for one of the water obstacles on the site - the exact kind of thing that I am trying to promote in my own playground.



The Takino Suzuran Hillside National Park in Japan is a massive play space with both indoor and outdoor play structures. It utilizes a number of different elements in the geography of the landscape - including a huge trampoline built into a hillside, while dividing itself into six distinctive zones, each with its own unique atmosphere. In winter, the outdoor areas become converted into "Takino Snow World," which provides a number of winter-time activities for visitors to the park.

Evidently it's a bit harder to find detailed information on bad playground design, but here we go...


Somehow I think this design is a little self-explanatory as to why it is a bad playground design.


As an architecture student, some designs just speak for themselves. This set in particular might get a chuckle out of small children, and a very confused look out of parents, while not necessarily promoting any of the development attributes that a good playground should be promoting - creativity, physical development, etc.


A very depressing playground - a small, fenced in area with a single roundabout for the children and a bench for adults. One of the things I'm quickly learning about playground photography is that playgrounds tend to look a lot more fun when you have kids playing on them, as all good playgrounds do. I'm curious as to whether or not a really crappy playground like this could be made to look fun if a bunch of kids were added into the picture doing various creative activities.