New York City Community Schoolyards

“I said, ‘You know what would be good in that park with those children and us senior citizens and the whole community? We need a gazebo. The next thing I know, I look across the street and what do I see? A gazebo! With a garden on top.’”

Anyone who has lived in or visited New York City knows that space is always at a premium, and that means built and natural environments have to serve as many needs and uses as possible. Schoolyards are an ideal community resource for meeting that imperative. The city is home to the nation’s largest public school system, serving about 1.1 million students. But for many of these students, it’s difficult to grow and play outside of school hours—in part because of New York City’s tight urban landscape. Every neighborhood has a public school, and most of those schools have outdoor yards. But many look more like parking lots than play spaces.

This complex situation sparked an ambitious, decades-long plan: reinvent schoolyards across New York City by turning them into vibrant, modern parks where children and community members can gather, play, explore, and soak up the benefits of time spent outside—even after school hours.