Adding equipment lockers to parks

Adding equipment lockers to parks
This idea  is so low cost that it could readily be implemented for every park in a city.




Place lockers in many  of a citys park.
 


-each locker will contain recreation equipment for one (or possibly more)special need(s).

 

ADD/ADHD Alzheimer's Apraxia Aspergers Autism Blindness Cerebral Palsy Developmental Delay

Down Syndrome Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Hearing Impairment Hydrocephalus Learning Disabilities Multiple Sclerosis Muscular Dystrophy Paraplegia

Quadriplegia Sensory Integration Disorder Speech & Language Delay Spina Bifida Traumatic Brain Injury Vision Impairment

-Keys to these lockers will  (initially*) be made available only to people with special needs

-A key  to  one of the  lockers in the park nearest where a person with special needs lives may be obtained from a city agency that lends keys to these lockers.

 _lockers can be set up filled with equipment (easiest)

There
-doesn't have to be a lot of lockers
-lockers need not be filled with any equipment



-Set up a few lockers
-When a special needs resident requests equipment
-A parks department storehouse will ship equipment for the locker to the district maintence crew
-crew will place items in locker
-person with special needs will; be informed that locker is now filled with recreation equipment



This agency may be eithe:

-The Parks department
-The city's Library system
-The city's health department
- Departnment of Social services Toy Loan in LA done by Departmentt of Social Services
-another city agency with a mandate to work with people with special needs

Travel distance to a park is an important factor in how often a park is used. By having special needs recreation equipment made available in EVERY city park travel distance to parks with equipment for special needs will be minimized and park usage  by people with special needs should increase.

Paratransit for parks is not met to replace the need for the creation of fixed equipment inclusive playgrounds  in a city.   Rather

-it is meant to act as a supplement to  the few  fixed equipment inclusive playspaces that most city's can afford to build. 

-It is also meant to offer sopecial needs recreation equipment to populations that are not served by inclusive playgrounds.  Many fixed equipment inclusive playgrounds are built for children with special needs. They are not built to serve the needs of teenagers, adults and seniors. By adding flexible equipment options as these lockers to parks, people with special needs who are over 12 years of age can also have their recreation neess met.


*Either initially limit to special needs, or offer 2 types of lockers special needs and developmentally normal. This will make sure that those with special need will always have equipment available.

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Much of the equipment will be real world recreation equipment things like lego sets and guitars. But those are 20th century recreation  objects. paratransit for parks will transform 20th century fixed parks into 21st century loose parks with concepts like  Augmented Reality and hi bandwith wifi gamiing.

Having recently seen Microsoft Holovision and Magic Leap  I see both of these technologies as creation tremendous opportunities to offer a single piece of recreation equipment that can meet far more recreation needs then any piece of fixed equipment.

Microsoft Holovision

Magic Leap

continued  here

Definitions Loose parks,, Paratransit for Parks

A fixed park is a park where most or all of its recreation equipment is  bolted to the ground. The equipment offered  in a fixed park is static and cannot change and grow to meet the needs of the community.

In NYC Fixed parks actually do get  updated, but  it can often be decades before this occurs.



Loose park-A loose park is one  that offers
- A "library" of portable recreation equipment 

-can have new equipment added to it's library in days not decades


-A fixed park can be transformed into a loose park by either adding a library of loose parts to the park, or making a library of loose parts available in a nearby structure.

-The cost to transform a fixed park into a  loose park is minimal

Paratransit is recognized in North America as special transportation services for people with disabilities, often provided as a supplement to fixed-route bus and rail systems by public transit agencies.

Paratransit for Parks-by supplementing the fixed equipment offerings of a fixed park with  a library of special needs   Loose Parts, parks departments can create a paradyme analogous to paratransit for their parks.



The idea of Loose Parks is  based on Involvement and Participation by psychologist Paul Rand from  Lawrence Halprin's New York,  New York  and  Simon Nicholson's   How Not to Cheat Children The Theory of Loose Parts. 

3 ways to add Looseness to a park

Moveable seating/Tables

A park in my neighborhood canoe Park was built several years ago. The only seating it offered were benches that I rarely would see used.

This year moveable seats and tables were added to the park, now everytime I pass by I see these occupied by a whole bunch of people.

Tables/chairs  not only add looseness to a park they also increase the socialbility of a park. Social seating is far nore usre friendly then benches.


Augumented Reality

Many ...


WiFi/ Computers

Adding WiFi to an area greatly incresase its looseness
I've surveyed a bunch of libraries and found that the vast majority of adults are noit reading books in these libraries, they are using them to access the internet, and

The  public spaces in my area that have wifi and moveable seating tables are far more popularr then the parks that do not offer these options

Don't See your favorite game? We are happy to take suggestions for our collection

Sign at Midtown Recess Loose Park

Don't See your favorite game? We are happy to take suggestions for our collection

Connecting Libraries and Parks -news challange entry

Connecting Libraries and Parks

A partnership to create a shared physical and programmatic connection between a City of Miami Park and a Miami-Dade Public Library.

2

Written by Ray Baker

Updated on 10:20, Mar 21, 2016

Describe your project.

This project is a partnership between the Miami-Dade Public Library System and the City of Miami Parks Department to create a shared connection and outdoor gathering area between two neighboring community learning and recreational assets, Athalie Range Park (525 N.W. 62 ST) and the Edison Center Branch Library (531 NW 62 ST), that are currently separated by a wall and fence. The connection of these two assets would eliminate physical barriers between the learning resources and services provided by each organization, and, further, by renovating and opening up the outdoor patio at the Edison Library, a new gathering and learning commons area would be created for shared informational, educational, recreational, and cultural programming events and activities as well as community engagement.

How does this project advance the library field?

21st Century libraries aim to create unique partnerships and reach users beyond the physical walls of the library itself. While parks and libraries individually serve as community anchors, establishing shared physical spaces and gathering areas, establishing new routes for the provision of library and parks services and activities, teaching children and teens how to use and benefit from the library's many resources, and combining the core competencies of library and parks professionals in educating and engaging children and teens would serve as a model, not only for parks and libraries throughout the country, but would also serve as a model for many other locations throughout Miami-Dade County where parks and libraries co-exist.

Who is the audience and what are their information needs?

The audience for this proposal is primarily targeted at children and teens within the disadvantaged Liberty City neighborhood whose needs include:
∙ Improved access to after-school recreational and learning activities;
∙ Improved access to information and technology training from parks and library staff via
   computers, internet, and Wi-Fi access available at both locations;
∙ Expanded opportunities for reading, tutoring, and homework assistance;
∙ Improved access to printed and electronic materials for educational, informational, and
   recreational purposes;
∙ An established safe and inviting location for peers to gather and enjoy community
   events, activities, or just hang out.
While primarily targeted at children and teens, the use of the improved space would be available to all library and park patrons, with additional programming, such as cultural events and themed activities, being tailored for adult and senior patrons.

Please list your team members and their qualifications.

Ray Baker- Assistant Director, Miami-Dade Public Library System
Kevin Kirwin- Director, City of Miami Parks Department
Kimberly Matthews, Assistant Director, Miami-Dade Public Library System
Jemmy Pierre-Louis, Edison Library Branch Manager, Miami-Dade Public Library System
Edda Rodriguez - Comm. Engagement & Programming Librarian, Miami-Dade Public Library System

Organization name and location (City, State).

Miami-Dade Public Library System, Miami, Florida
City of Miami Parks Department, Miami, Florida

Flatiron Plaza Throwback Thursdays

As part of it's Throwback Thursdays series NYC's Flatiron BID offered Cornhole, Jenga, Scrabble and other classic games.

This Loose Park is available for 8 weeks on Thursdays June 23rd to August 11th beginning at 11am every day.

This Loose Park is manned by a Flatiron BID intern, with assistance from BID security staff.

Underutilization of Parks- Exclusion and Inclusion

Philadelphia has the largest in-city park system in the world, which can serve as a tremendous resource for social interaction, relaxation and recreation. Yet 72% of older Philadelphians report they had not gone to a public recreation facility in the past year.   link

 link 

 Philadelphia's findings are  not an aberration. A Rand Corporation study found that seniors seldom use Los Angeles  parks.link

Why are seniors not using parks? One possibility comes from the authors of the book People Places they said   "The natural environment of a park is not enough to attract some elderly users, but a park with many activities can simulate social exchange and provide a sense of belonging"   link

 Seniors are not the only groups with issues that cause them not to use parks...
 
 Overall this is a great facility I just wish the community would use it for more activities other than the one concert in the park they have every summer because that's pretty much the only reason why I've ever gone here.  link

 I was visiting Manhattan's Union Square Park , I talked to a youth there who told me, “there's benches for seniors  and a playground for the little kids but nothing for us.” 


Sixteen-year-old D’En Vargas suggested a multi-use basketball court to his group — an idea that wasn’t so warmly received.
“Without that, a lot of teens won’t come — they go to the park to play sports. It would be uniting us with everybody else,” said Vargas, who lives in Queens but spends a lot of time at his grandmother’s in Chelsea.

The debates were spirited — and not always satisfactory for everyone. D’en Vargas, 16, second from right, encountered staunch resistance against his idea for a multi-use sports field on the small plot. Photo by Yannic Rack. Chelsea Now

“This is more of an older group, so my opinion is currently being shot down,” he confided later. “But I’m still fighting for it.”
Not all of his fellow parks enthusiasts came equipped with a special wish list, however.

  
 Contemporary American playgrounds don’t hold or inspire older kids...More and more, preteens avoid the playground altogether, choosing instead to spend time indoors, most likely sitting in front of some kind of screen...What teen will go to the playground to play a game when he has better graphics at home on his computer or anywhere on his cell phone? The Science of Play

 
link

 What I think is happening is that many  of our parks  subtly    include and exclude use by many groups   through the features they offer and do not offer.  link

Defining Inclusion
I was talking to a senior who uses a wheelchair, she asked me if I could let her know if there were any inclusive playgrounds  in NYC. I asked her to define inclusive playground . She said a park that would have activities for her to participate in. I could not think of many parks in NYC  that are inclusive for her. 

 On Further thinking I came up with  a lot of "playgrounds" that might  have activities to meet her needs
-the libraries in her neighborhood
-the senior centers in her neighborhood
-the college in her neighborhood that offer senior scholar programs.

So there are a good number of locations  offering senior playspaces.... only they  are  not   NYC parks

If a "park" offers enough activities to attract you  to use it, then it  is an inclusive park for you, if not it isn't. Doesn't matter if 1 or  10,000 other people find activities  at that park that attract them to it, if it doesn't attract you, it fails your  inclusion test.

Think, what features would a park need to offer for so that you would want to use it on a regular basis?