Operation Playground: Catalyst for Community Development

Aug. 27, 2010— -- Over the past five years, the residents of the Gulf coast region have proven their resilience in the face of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but what is often forgotten during the rebuilding of a community is the need for play.

The national nonprofit group KaBOOM! has been a constant presence in the rebuilding efforts since December 2005 when it launched Operation Playground, an initiative to build safe and fun places for children to play in the neighborhoods affected by the storms.

KaBOOM! believes that play is not a luxury but a catalyst for community development.

On the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, KaBOOM! returns to New Orleans to build its 135th and 136th playgrounds – in the Forest Park Apartments and Burke Park to help revitalize areas in need.

"When there has been any disaster, play has been discovered to have deeply therapeutic values," said Roger Hart, director of the Children's Environments Research Group at the City University of New York.

"When children have been in conflict situations, in war, when there have been earthquakes or any natural disasters and children are dislocated, play is an extremely important place because it's the place where you get to work out and to act out dramatically with your friends the problems that you're going through with this new challenge," Hart said. "If you want to make sure that your children are going to have a chance to recover themselves, they need to be given opportunities to recover themselves. And that means free time, free play and time with their peers."

While few question the integrity of KaBOOM!'s intentions, some have criticized the notion of focusing on playgrounds rather than concentrating on more vital needs such as food and shelter.

"Certainly in terms of movement, play is important. Certainly in terms of learning social skills, it's important," said Anthony Pelligrini, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota."But, being an expert on play, I can unequivocally say that play does not occur unless kids feel as though they're in a safe environment. So, if they don't have houses and good nutrition, playgrounds are less important."