Play equity

By: Allyson Meyer

In making municipal parks accessible for all, Vancouver creates a sense of community belonging.

Laughter fills the air in recently reopened Esther Short Park, where history is being made in one of Washington’s oldest public squares. Throughout the Victorian playground theme, the City of Vancouver has committed to a future where play spaces are accessible to everyone.

Vancouver’s accessible Chelsea Anderson Memorial Play Station (CHAMPS) at Marshall Park under construction.
Credit: Thomas Teal

Project Play is a Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services’ initiative, and Esther Short Park is the first in the city to undergo a transformation focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Two more projects will follow: the reopening of Chelsea Anderson Memorial Play Station (CHAMPS) at Marshall Park, and the upcoming renovation of Fruit Valley Neighborhood Park’s playground honoring the legacy of community leader Elizabeth Austin—supported by a $1 million donation from Vancouver’s Kuni Foundation, a charitable foundation focused in part on accelerating the inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“Project Play is a vision to strategically place fully accessible playgrounds at parks throughout Vancouver, where people of all ages and abilities can thrive together through play,” says Parks Director Julie Hannon (she/her).

It is a vision being pursued throughout Washington, and it hits close to home for Vancouver Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Commissioner Jeremy Robbins (he/him).

Vancouver’s accessible Chelsea Anderson Memorial Play Station (CHAMPS) at Marshall Park under construction.
Credit: Thomas Teal

“The City of Vancouver has a really amazing vision for what the future will look like,” he says. “I’m disabled. I broke my neck in a bicycling accident half my life ago and so, for me, being involved in these sort[s] of projects is just about people with disabilities leading a high quality of life. There’s plenty of work to be done, but it feels really good to be where we are. I can’t tell you the joy I feel in my heart hearing those kids play on that playground.”

“We believe that inclusive play opportunities are an important building block to creating a community where everyone feels welcome, celebrated, and experiences joy,” says Kuni Foundation Director of Grants and Programs Robyn Shuey (she/her). “We are so proud that the City of Vancouver—the Kuni Foundation’s home—prioritizes inclusion and accessibility in playground design, ensuring that all children and families have an opportunity to enjoy our beautiful outdoor spaces.”

“We believe that inclusive play opportunities are an important building block to creating a community where everyone feels welcome, celebrated, and experiences joy.”

David Perlick, interim director of the City of Vancouver Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department, at Esther Short Park.
Credit: Thomas Teal

The city has partnered with Portland-based nonprofit Harper’s Playground for both the Esther Short and Marshall Park playground transformations. From zero-entry merry-go-rounds to more abundant seating, the parks go beyond accessibility to pursue the nonprofit’s model of “radical inclusivity.”

Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle and David Perlick, interim director of the City of Vancouver Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department, at Esther Short Park.
Credit: Thomas Teal

“Accessible really only refers to the surfacing throughout the space which allows those with mobility challenges to get to all of the features or gathering areas. That is vital, of course, but not nearly enough,” says Harper’s Playground Co-Founder and Chief Play Officer Cody Goldberg (he/him).

The nonprofit’s model considers how the space can be physically inviting through accessibility and adaptability, socially inviting through a natural and communal setting, and emotionally inviting through thoughtful and beautiful design.

For Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle (she/her), these Project Play transformations are only the beginning. “This is the evolution of parks throughout our entire city,” she says.

Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle and David Perlick, interim director of the City of Vancouver Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department, at Esther Short Park.
Credit: Thomas Teal

Because of this, Vancouver needed to ensure funding sources long-term. The solution was an increase in the business license surcharge fee for applicable businesses, with a portion of the fee supporting the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services budget. With this in place, the city could guarantee an ongoing funding source to ensure Project Play is sustainable.

For McEnerny-Ogle, the beauty of this initiative lies in the lessons we can learn on the playground.

“For children to play together, they learn a lot of social skills,” she says. “There’s a lot to learn and what a wonderful opportunity to have a playground to make that happen. And if it’s every child, every person, every senior, just to have that conversation while you [are on the] swing[s]—if that’s DEI, we’re so excited. How wonderful.”

Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle and David Perlick, interim director of the City of Vancouver Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department, at Esther Short Park.
Credit: Thomas Teal