How inclusive playgrounds are transforming communities

By Chad Kennedy

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one in four people lives with disabilities. Yet many playgrounds and recreational spaces fail to provide inclusive environments where everyone can connect, play, and thrive. 

How West Chicago Park District created an indoor jungle adventure

By Ashleigh Torbert

When the West Chicago Park District opened the ARC Center in 2014, the goal was simple yet ambitious: to bring all the city’s recreation services under one roof and to create a true community hub for residents of all ages.

How to launch an inclusive learn-to-ride bike camp

By Andrew Luftglass

For many people, learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage. It’s a skill that gives them freedom and opens up the world to exploration and independence. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), however, that milestone can often feel inaccessible. The All Abilities Bike Inclusive Learn-to-Ride Camp is changing that narrative, one confident stride at a time.

Trends for the community waterpark 

By Josh Martin

As the popularity of waterparks continues to rise, local governments and municipalities have sought ways to bring the waterpark experience to their local community aquatic facilities. Trends in more family-oriented attractions, theme park environments, or bigger and better parks in general have saturated the space. Community leaders must look at the investment needed for some of these waterpark trends to obtain a solid return and to stay relevant in a competitive landscape.

Envisioning enriching and dynamic water play sites

By Chelsea Hoffman and Max D'Aurizio

Water is inherently fascinating—children (and adults) are instinctively drawn to it. It’s a natural focal point for communal play. In the U.S., water-play spaces are often designed as splash pads or automatic spray systems. These installations let children run through jets of water, cool off on hot summer days, and enjoy bursts of excitement.

How splash pads can provide inclusive fun for all

By Ariel Mansholt

When the summer sun blazes, many families flock to splash pads to beat the heat. These play spaces can be a refreshing escape for children and caregivers of all ages—and they can be particularly effective in ensuring that kids of all abilities are included in the fun.

Winona Lake Limitless Park is a model for inclusive play 

By Jessica Dooms

Winona Lake Limitless Park is more than a playground—it’s a space where people of all ages and abilities can come together to play, connect, and enjoy the outdoors. Designed with inclusivity at its core, this universally accessible park embraces the beauty of its natural surroundings while fostering a sense of belonging for all. Located in Winona Lake, Ind., it has become a beacon of community engagement and innovative design, earning its reputation as a place “where fun has no limits.”

Glass trends that blend sophistication and structural integrity

By Mike Mendoza 

Glass is more than just a material—it's a statement of modern elegance and innovation. Commonly used to enhance the decorative appeal of a project, it also holds a structural integrity that makes it a smart choice for building design and construction, due to its versatility, durability, and contributions to sustainable building practices. 

Pocket parks can improve public life with minimal requirements

By Mitchell Fransen

Community parks are often celebrated as the epitome of urban park experiences, as evidenced in Google results, bustling vehicular traffic, and ambient sounds present. However, leaders tend to overlook the invaluable opportunity to forge community bonds through the intimate spaces of smaller parks. Not all citizens go to parks after a 9-5 shift in a minivan with their kids, ready for active recreation. Moreover, rethinking the impacts of smaller parks, pocket parks, plazas, and multi-destination greenways is paramount in delivering on the promise of excellent parklands for all citizens in urban regions and beyond.

A transformative journey for Santa Ana

By Timothy J. Pagano

In 2022, the City of Santa Ana, Calif. embarked on a transformative journey to bring its aquatic programming back in-house, marking a bold shift in its approach to community services. For over a decade, the program had been outsourced, but with the conclusion of the contractor agreement and evolving priorities of the city council, Santa Ana’s leaders saw an opportunity to take control of its aquatic future. This decision, driven by the need to address systemic inequities in water safety, has since reshaped the way residents engage with aquatic education and recreation.

CDC, NSF, and Westlake Water Solutions offer annual facility-maintenance tips

By Frank Schiffman

The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by inflationary cost increases, has made it more difficult for aquatic facility managers to maintain smooth operations. Staff shortages and budget tightening have also made general maintenance, water safety, and chemical management feel like herding cats.

How Makapo Aquatics centers inclusivity in watersports

By Grace Nyberg

“We just wanted people of all abilities to be able to get on the water together,” says RJ De Rama, Executive Director and co-founder of Makapo Aquatics Project. That simple idea sparked the beginning of the organization, which is dedicated to making outrigger paddling accessible to every individual. Founded in 2007 by two blind paddlers, Makapo began by creating opportunities for blind and low-vision athletes. Since then, the organization has grown to include individuals with a range of physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, paralysis, and amputations, among others.

Revolutionizing parks and recreation

By Jason Peters

Like many industries, parks and recreation departments are benefiting from using AI and data to optimize operations. Based on insights from industry leaders with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, there are some key takeaways that can help agencies of all sizes.

What it takes to maintain an ice-skating rink

By Hannah Seo

A beloved and longstanding staple of wintertime recreation, gliding around on knife-strapped boots is an annual must-do activity for families around the world. But while ice skating has been around for an exceptionally long time—scholars think it was developed in Scandinavia around 1000 BCE—manmade ice-skating rinks are a somewhat recent invention, created fewer than 150 years ago. 

Iowa nonprofit Can Play empowers communities for inclusive recreation

By Brianne Sanchez

“Tonight, we’re going to work on building strong muscles and fast feet!” Melissa Clarke-Wharff calls out to a group of pre-teens warming up for 45 minutes of fitness fun. 

Balancing the needs of workers, communities, and land 

By Clement Lau

As the world transitions from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources, the concept of a "just transition" has gained prominence as a framework for ensuring the shift is fair and equitable. At its core, just transition seeks to balance the needs of three critical areas: impacted workers, impacted communities, and impacted land.

Building a sustainable camp culture

By Danny Sudman

Imagine sustainability as a massive LEGO set—a collection of colorful bricks, each representing a resource that helps build a sustainable model. Unlike traditional LEGO sets with clear instructions, sustainability is an evolving process that varies from camp to camp due to differences in location, resources, and organizational priorities. Most of us are working with a mix of pieces—limited budgets, minimal buy-in, and limited knowledge about best practices for sustainability. But with creativity and determination, we can still create something meaningful.

A changing climate is bringing new animals to public spaces

By Karen Fischer

The end of summer 2024 brought several massive hurricanes to the East Coast, flooding homes, destroying power grids, and costing hundreds of billions in recovery dollars. But across the Southeast, beyond heavier rain, drought, and other changes in climate, there have been more instances in which animals like alligators are spotted outside their historical territories.

How to prevent carbon monoxide leaks in ice rinks

By Laura Wheatman Hill

Though ice skating provides joy, connection, and fitness in many communities, unexpected dangers lurk in rinks. Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is an unfortunate possibility due to a few factors. Fortunately, however, prevention of potentially deadly accidents is possible without major facility upgrades, costs, or labor. 

For Jon Pallone, head baseball coach at Quakertown Community High School in Quakertown, Penn., the umpire shouting “Play ball!” to begin the team’s March 2024 home opener took on special meaning.

By Dan Hanson

A holistic approach to greenspace management

By Nathan Krois

In the midst of burgeoning urbanization and escalating environmental concerns, greenspaces within urban infrastructure have become more significant than ever. As cities expand and evolve, thoughtful consideration of greenspace management is imperative to foster sustainable development and enhance the quality of life for residents.

How cities can harness innovation to give residents equitable experiences

By William Healy

According to the CDC, up to one in four adults in the United States has some form of disability. Yet, when many public recreation facilities and activities were originally established, accessibility wasn’t under consideration.

Strategies to jump-start your next community-recreation master plan

By John Dzarnowski, Dan Nicholas and Daniel Atilano

In today's fast-paced world, accessible and well-designed recreational spaces have become increasingly vital.

A survey conducted by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) found most people agree that local recreational facilities should offer a wide variety of services, such as healthy-living classes, programming for older adults, nature-based activities, arts and crafts opportunities, access to computers and the internet, and inclusive facilities for all abilities and needs.

With extreme temps becoming the norm, cities and builders find ways to adapt

By Karen Fischer

For the past few summers, new heat records were set almost daily, across the country. The phenomenon suggests no single region is more prone to excessive heat than another. Most municipalities in North America are guaranteed to experience an unprecedented heat wave at some point.

The hardest worker in parks and rec…except for you

By Mary Helen Sprecher

With the exception of parks and recreation staff, is there anything in the sector that works harder than the gym? After all, it might host everything from basketball to pickleball to volleyball to futsal—and a lot more.