Savannah Named A ‘Playful City’
As of this week, Savannah’s grown-up city leaders have gotten it as an official designation. KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing recreational activities for children, announced Savannah and Richmond Hill were among 118 communities to earn designations as a 2010 Playful City USA. It is the first time for either city to be named.
Getting the recognition wasn’t necessarily a slam dunk. Cities had to provide documentation in a number of areas, including providing an inventory of playground equipment, having certified playground inspectors and dedicating at least one day a year as a community play day, said Joe Shearouse, Savannah’s director of leisure services.
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Mayor Pro Tem Edna Jackson learned of the program two years ago at a National League of Cities conference and, with the endorsement of Mayor Otis Johnson and the rest of City Council, helped pursue it for Savannah. Being named a Playful City gives Savannah and Richmond Hill priority status for further KaBOOM! playground grants, which have totaled $3.8 million for designated cities since 2007.
Playful City communities also receive signs, awards and special incentive opportunities from KaBOOM! and are included in a national media campaign touting their recreation opportunities.
“I am very excited,” Jackson said. “It represents what members of City Council do when we go to various conferences or board meetings. We don’t just go to fill a seat, we work to bring something back to our community.”
Shearouse credited the City Council for its commitment to expanding recreational activities for Savannah youth. The city has 62 playgrounds at 58 sites. The Playful City priorities also ties in with Mayor Johnson’s Healthy Savannah initiative, which strives to make the city a healthier place to live for all citizens by 2012.
The designation has additional benefits, said Mike Vietti, communications manager for KaBOOM! Travel magazines have featured Playful Cities in articles.
“We’re starting to see real estate and travel websites pick up on the designation as well,” he said. “And we’re thrilled that cities are starting to use that designation as encouragement for families to move to those cities.”
Tourism and relocation possibilities aside, once a city is designated, KaBOOM! works to share its best ideas with other cities.
“Unique ideas that come out of Savannah or Richmond Hill might make their way to New York or Atlanta,” Vietti said.
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