Los Angeles Green Schoolyards Initiative

Parks are essential to our health and well-being, but what happens when more than 1.5 million Los Angeles residents—including over a third of the city’s children, people of color, and residents of low-income households—lack close-to-home access to one of these indispensable green spaces? And in cities like Los Angeles where space is at a premium, how can we create new parks where they’re needed most? The answer: Trust for Public Land’s L.A. Green Schoolyards.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest district in the country, has over 1,000 school campuses and many of those campuses have space for playgrounds. Far too often, these spaces are underutilized and covered in asphalt, but our Green Schoolyards will transform these spaces into vibrant oases the entire community can enjoy even after school hours. Across the country, Trust for Public Land has a proven track record of creating schoolyards that serve as a hub for community empowerment, improve health and education, and create climate resiliency. Now it’s time to bring these benefits to Los Angeles.

We’re partnering with LAUSD, City of Los Angeles, the Office of Mayor Karen Bass, L.A.’s Department of Recreation & Parks, and other community organizations to transform 28 schoolyards by 2028 (28×28), which would put a valuable green space within a 10-minute walk of 260,000 people in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. A fitting tribute to the importance of time spent outside for all people. This Los Angeles Green Schoolyards initiative will help promote a healthy lifestyle, reduce educational disparities, and improve educational outcomes, while making vulnerable communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. As temperatures in Los Angeles soar to record highs, green schoolyards help cool neighborhoods and protect kids from extreme heat.

Each green schoolyard is filled to the brim with fun and climate smart features like new jungle gyms, trees, native gardens, outdoor classrooms, grass, and much more. They’re designed with local school districts, educators, parents, children, and residents to ensure community needs are at its heart. The result isn’t just a nice place for children to play during recess; these schoolyard transformations take a systems-based approach to create healthier, happier, and more resilient communities.