Playing in the Streets? Creating Children's Activity Space in the Urban Environment

Background: In 2013, Play Streets was implemented in four San Francisco neighborhoods funded by the national initiative, “Partnership for a Healthier America” to increase physical activity (PA) among youth. Building on the open streets movement, Play Streets uses existing infrastructure—sidewalks, playgrounds and streets closed to vehicle traffic within one city block—for programming in communities with limited access to health-benefiting PA. We conducted a feasibility evaluation to determine prospective benefits from implementation of a Play Streets policy by examining characteristics of users, levels/types of PA, use of open space and level of community engagement.

Methods: A quasi-experimental treatment/comparison design was used to collect observational (SOPARC) and survey data on adult and youth participants.

Results: SOPARC data shows that Play Streets attracted equal numbers of girls and boys 12 and younger, but few teenagers (the targeted population). Each child was accompanied by at least one adult. More girls engaged in sedentary activities while boys engaged in vigorous activities. Preliminary survey analysis revealed that most adults were present to accompany and be physically active with their children. More than 90% of adults agreed that: “Play Streets strengthens the community.”

Discussion: A disconnect occurred between targeted population, activities offered and participants, despite community involvement in event development. Further investigation is needed to identify activities of interest to teens, especially teen girls who demonstrate lowest rates of PA nationally, and were the least represented group at Play Streets. Significantly greater sedentary behavior among female participants suggests that Play Streets strategies had limited effectiveness.