Playgrounds

America’s schoolyards are packed with potential. In a few places, schoolyards are vibrant community hubs, open to the public after school hours and designed to meet the needs of neighbors as well as students. But in too many communities, schoolyards look more like parking lots than playgrounds, and their gates lock as soon as students head home for the day.

More than 3,600 residents live within a 10 Minute Walk of Charlotte’s Blueberry Park. For years, a local stewardship group, Charlotte’s Blueberry Park Action Group, advocated for park improvements. In 2017, The Trust for Public Land connected with the Action Group and helped neighbors identify a new playground as a community priority. More than 250 community members provided input on the design for the new playground.

East River Park is the Lower East Side and East Village's largest open space at 57 acres and more than a mile of waterfront. It hosts an array of activities, including baseball, soccer, tennis, playgrounds, and fitness equipment, as well as gardening and composting, and educational facilities. An important link on the East River Esplanade, East River Park also acts as the first line of defense against storm surges and rising tides for residents of the Lower East Side.