Justice
L.A. Opens Up its School Yards
A pilot program allows joint use of school playgrounds by communities in park-poor areas
After the final bell rings and the kids clear out, schools are basically empty. So are their playgrounds. For cities with low access to parks and open spaces, these areas present opportunities. But for the most part, whether for vague security reasons or merely tradition, the playgrounds of public schools are off limits to the communities around them. They sit there, mockingly empty, and inaccessible to residents.
A new program has just launched in Los Angeles to try to open up these closed spaces for community benefit after school hours. The program is dubbed Jugar – as in the Spanish verb for play – and is starting out in two pilot schools in park-poor parts of town.