Chittick Elementary Community Schoolyard

The Hyde Park neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts has one of the city’s largest park equity gaps. In a city where space is a premium, Trust for Public Land looks for innovative solutions to maximize green space and connect more people to the benefits of nature. The solution is hiding in plain sight: Community Schoolyards®.

By transforming asphalt lots into vibrant green spaces, these Community Schoolyards® provide space for students to play, room for neighbors to gather, and include features that keep entire neighborhoods cool during the hottest of summers. Open to the public after school hours, these spaces are designed with student and community needs at their core.

We’re currently working with students, teachers, and administrators at Chittick Elementary School as well as the neighboring community to transform their uninspiring playground into one of these neighborhood treasures. Right now, the nearly vacant yard hosts two well-loved playsets on hot asphalt. The school believes in empowering all students to believe and achieve—and through our participatory design process, we enabled students to build the playground of their dreams.

We’re working with our partners at the Boston Parks and Recreation Department and Boston Public Schools to design and build this community schoolyard. Once complete, the Chittick Elementary Schoolyard will serve 200+ students and 6,300 people who live within a 10-minute walk to the awesome benefits of the outdoors.