KaBOOM! selected Orlando for its dedication to play through its partnership approach: Orlando has 14 joint-use agreements with the Orange County Public Schools to use and maintain playgrounds and other playspaces. This allows the City to open up school playgrounds for public use during after-school hours.
"In a time when only 1-in-5 children in the U.S. currently live within walking distance of a park or playground, the City of Orlando is one of 151 cities and towns across the nation that have taken innovative approaches to make play a priority."
Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generations in part because only 20-percent live within walking distance of a park or playground. This Play Deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically as well as mentally and socially because children need a place to play every day in order to be active and healthy.
A key platform in combating the Play Deficit is Playful City USA, a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children. KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the Play Deficit by ensuring their children have the time and space they need to play.
