Superior honored as a 'Playful City USA'

National non-profit KaBOOM! is honoring the town of Superior with a 2017 Playful City USA designation for the first time.

Playful City USA honors cities and towns across the country for putting the needs of families first so kids can learn, grow and develop important life skills. These communities are transforming ordinary places into playful spaces and using play as a solution to the challenges facing their residents.

The 2017 Playful City USA recognition includes 258 communities from Richmond, Virginia, to Richmond, California, that make it as easy as possible for kids to play. In total, these communities feature more than 14,000 safe and engaging playspaces that serve more than 4 million kids.

Mayor Roni Phillips, stated that she and Council are very excited to be honored as a 2017 Playful City USA.

“Superior has three public parks. The parks include playgrounds, swimming pool, tennis court, picnic areas, and sports fields. Our parks are extensively used for youth soccer, youth baseball, swimming, summer reading program, summer youth lunch program and more,” Phillips said.

As cities are becoming hotbeds for innovation, communities across the country are creating inventive ways to attract and retain residents. Playful City USA honorees are taking action to ensure kids have great places to play — all with the ultimate goal of making play the easy choice for all kids, no matter where they live. In addition to the playground down the street, Playful City USA communities are turning grocery stores, vacant lots, crosswalks and sidewalks into opportunities for play.

“We are thrilled to recognize Superior for putting kids first,” said KaBOOM! CEO James Siegal. “The well-being of our communities starts with the well-being of our kids, and play is critical for them to thrive. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that all kids get the childhood they deserve filled with play.”

A full list of Playful City USA communities is available online. To learn more about making play the easy choice for kids, visit kaboom.org/playfulcityusa. Alberton has been honored twice in the past and Missoula nine times.

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids — particularly those growing up in poverty in America — the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open or improve nearly 16,700 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served 8.5 million kids.

KaBOOM’s goal is to create great places to play, inspire communities to promote and support play and drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives.