Getting kids to spend more time outside improves their physical and mental health. When it comes to achieving this goal, public spaces are a key building block. But they need to be welcoming, accessible, and engaging for this age set. ‍

Placemaking can create parks and play areas where kids and teens feel free to explore and simply have fun. In alignment with this goal, Project for Public Spaces was thrilled to partner with the makers of Claritin® who made a donation through its Clarity Parks Project to provide kids of different ages, as well as their parents and caregivers, with welcoming outdoor spaces offering playful, high-quality facilities as well as youth-focused programming. Today, we’re sharing the results from our three grantee organizations: Win in New York City, New York; the Hawthorne Community Center in Indianapolis, Indiana; and The Pass in San Antonio, Texas.

The Pass, San Antonio, Texas

The Pass, operated by San Antonio’s Historic Market Square, is a vast space under the Interstate 35 expressway in downtown San Antonio between Dolorosa Street and West Commerce Street. While the site lacked existing facilities or programming, it did have two very important attributes—shade and location. Structured shade is crucial in a city that experienced its hottest summer on record in 2023. The space also acts as a key entryway to downtown, with San Antonio’s Mercado and Historic Market Square on one side and UTSA’s growing downtown campus on the other.

“We’re excited about the underpass project because it is directly in line with our commitment toward supporting unique programming and creative placemaking to engage and strengthen the downtown community,” said Alexandra Frey, Executive Director at our grant matching partner, the 80|20 Foundation. “The project has the potential to beautify this area as well as increase walkability and safety through regular activation of the space.” 

All of the stakeholders, including the University of Texas at San Antonio, Center City Development and Operations Department, the 80|20 Foundation, and the Henry Ford Academy agreed that this underpass had great potential to be unlocked, but there was an unexpected factor we had to consider. The Pass is also home to a colony of endangered bats! Though a first for Project for Public Spaces, we were excited to work in harmony with the colony while still allowing young people to take advantage of the shady space for recreational opportunities, especially on hot days.

Our staff began community engagement outreach with online stakeholder workshops and focus groups with Market Square Tenant Association Board members, business improvement district Centro, TxDOT, and UTSA. We also held a workshop with high school students from the Henry Ford Academy’s Alameda School for Art and Design, which is currently located on UTSA’s campus, catty-cornered from the site. After an introduction to the project, students divided into groups, walked over to the overpass, and evaluated the site using Project for Public Spaces’ “Place Performance Game” exercise. After some on-site brainstorming, including assessing the intersection between the overpass and UTSA, they returned to the classroom to report their findings and ideas back to the group. 

The students envisioned the future of the overpass as an after school hangout with places to do homework, socialize, and be creative. They were also very mindful to include unhoused people in their view of a welcoming and supportive space. The students were interested in playing and watching sports like skateboarding and basketball as it would provide a reason to gather. Charging stations for phones and laptops and plenty of seating were also requests from both the teens and the merchant focus group for visitors looking to linger longer. 

Project for Public Spaces then brought these ideas to life. By August 2023 at the opening ceremony for The Pass, the old overpass was nearly unrecognizable. Colorful pavement and swinging benches create a welcoming atmosphere. There are also a new basketball court, ping pong tables, beautiful landscaping, and plenty of places to sit and take it all in. As for the bat colony, we added large colorful planters underneath our endangered friends to capture the guano as fertilizer while encouraging people to keep a respectful distance. In addition, the city will bring murals by local artists depicting area history to a series of columns this fall. On opening day, this previously underused space was now full of people gathering to sample food from a variety of food vendors, watch performers, and participate in a basketball game or two.

"This exciting placemaking opportunity at Historic Market Square paves the way for youth of all ages and abilities to have a chance to enjoy the benefits that come from outdoor experiences,” said Center City Development & Operations Assistant Director John Stevens. “Whether it is connecting with their peers, enjoying local art, or an introduction to Market Square, this collaborative effort will truly have something for everyone in the community." 

After all the new changes, we’re happy to see kids and families adding The Pass to their weekly itineraries. Now kids and teens can head there to play or catch a respite from the heat. Equally exciting, they might even catch sight of their nocturnal bat neighbors!

Win, New York City, New York

Win is the largest provider of shelter for homeless families in New York City. The organization provides a wide array of supportive services that foster independence and allow women and their children the possibility of a brighter future. Our goal was to transform an empty 2,500-square-foot concrete courtyard at one Brooklyn shelter into an outdoor gathering place with a little something for everyone from toddlers to teens to caretakers. Together, we worked towards upgrading this central yet underutilized area into a colorful oasis featuring lush plants and ample seating for residents and staff.

To make this outdoor space more welcoming, we set out to research what children living in Win’s housing wanted out of their space. We took some of the kids in daycare on an excursion to a nearby park where we explored a community engagement technique developed for their age group called “Photovoice.” For this exercise, we provided the children with digital cameras designed for their age so they could capture whatever delighted them in the park, as well as on the walk there and back.

On a follow-up visit, the design team at Project for Public Spaces printed and shared some of these photos with the original group. Together, the design team, children, and staff discussed how they envisioned the space right outside their classroom, adding stickers depicting their favorite activities to the enlarged photos. The kids highlighted shade, patterns, water, flowers, yard decoration, a chalkboard, music, a fun path, and, of course, play. One child even mentioned a comfy place for his mother to sit. 

After talking through these preferences with our working group of Win teachers, programmers, and other staff, we decided to focus on creating a safe space for young kids to play comfortably and engage their sensory skills, which are less likely to develop as quickly for kids in shelters. This new space would also feature plenty of shaded seating with colorful landscaping for caretakers or other youth to relax. Today, the courtyard includes a chalkboard and tables that can also host programming for caretakers. 

In fall 2022, together with Win staff, and local elected officials, we gathered to celebrate the new space. So far, the kids have been overjoyed to have a new space to learn, socialize, and play while families can gather and relax at the picnic tables. In just the last two months of 2022, 35 activities based on STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math—took place in the outdoor classroom with the participation of 100 kids!

“Building a sense of community is an essential part of our mission to support the families who call Win home. This new playground creates an inviting place for kids in our shelter to play and for their parents to unwind outside of their living space,” said Christine Quinn, President & CEO of Win. “We’re so thankful to our partner Project for Public Spaces and the kind donation provided by the Clarity Parks Project™.”

Hawthorne Community Center, Indianapolis, Indiana

Hawthorne Community Center’s campus is a special place. Today, the nonprofit provides adult and youth programming centered around the needs of local residents inside an early twentieth century Carnegie library and a second, newer building.

But when we started working with the Hawthorne Center, the staff expressed a desire to transform their front yard into a welcoming public space. While their focus is on youth and teens, it was important to them that the courtyard feel inviting to the entire neighborhood, which is racially diverse, and with over 75 percent of households living below the federal poverty level. While the Hawthorne Community Center is already providing much-needed resources, we all saw the potential for a new, vibrant outdoor space where local children and teens could learn and have fun. Previously an usable and sometimes muddy lot, this area is now a green new canvas for the community to project their dreams.

Through broad community engagement with pop-up boards at the annual neighborhood 2021 Hootenanny Fall Fiesta in October and a PhotoVoice activity with students, our path became clear: We would focus on improving landscaping, installing a flexible stage, and adding a pergola, seating, and games. The visioning, planning, design, and construction, which consisted exclusively of local contractors, was completed in under a year. The grand re-opening was celebrated at the 2022 Hootenanny Fall Fiesta bringing the placemaking process full circle. The event was a success: Over 400 people attended dressed in costumes—from dinosaurs to superheroes—to enjoy some live music, vendors, and more in the lead-up to Halloween.

Now that locals have gotten acquainted with this green space, it has become a local hangout spot for kids and teens. On a typical day after school, a large group of middle schoolers hangs out at the park while waiting for the bus. There are kids chatting with friends on the benches, dancing on the stage, using their phones at the cafe tables, laying down on the grass, and just having fun. Hawthorne Community Center’s Executive Director Caleb Sutton sums it up well when he says, “This is exactly how you want the space to be used.”

A Healthy Cycle

The goal of the Clarity Parks Project is to bring kids outdoors, and each of the three projects demonstrate how to accomplish this with a different age group: younger children at Win; neighborhood kids and their caretakers at the Hawthorne Community Center; and teens and young adults at the Pass at Historic Market Square.

From the outset, we were inspired by the grantees’ dedication to providing safe and fun outdoor spaces for their youth. Building on their existing work, we were able to take these youth-oriented public spaces to the next level, and we can’t wait to see how they evolve as young people continue to use them year-round.

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