Playing Smart changelabsolutions.org | kaboom.org 33 Tucson, Arizona Population 520,116 Development pattern Low-density city Population density 2,500 per square mile Median household income $30,981 Partners involved City of Tucson Tucson Unified School District Tucson Police Department Tucson has a park deficit. The city averages 6.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents – about half the national average. And Tucson ranks last in the nation for available parkland among cities with low population density. At the same time, Tucson’s population is rapidly increasing. School board member Bruce Burke recalls community members advocating for access to their local high school tennis court so they could practice on weekends. Concerned about liability and maintenance issues, school officials told the group – and many others – they would have to find other places to play. Nevertheless, the school’s fields and playgrounds were heavily used at nights, on weekends, and during the summer. Roger Pfeuffer, a retired superintendent of the city’s largest school district, publicly described helping his grandchildren hop their school’s playground fence. In 2007, Rodney Glassman ran for Tucson City Council, making schoolyard access a central campaign issue. After his election, his staff identified neighborhood schools as “low-hanging fruit” – a way to quickly increase play space with little up-front cost. “We have over 100 elementary, middle, and high school campuses with grass fields, but they’re surrounded by chain link fences and closed after 3 p.m. and on weekends, and all summer long,” says Councilman Glassman. “My goal was to leverage the community resources that already existed and provide the opportunity for neighbors to enjoy them.” Councilman Glassman suggested joint use agreements between the city and Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) – the largest of the city’s 14 school districts – to open these spaces to the community after school hours. Tucson set a goal to have a park or play space within a half-mile of every resident. The city also conducted a play space audit to identify available play spaces and determine areas in need of development. The city’s parks department had a long track record of forming joint use agreements with the school districts for specific construction projects. But elected officials were promoting a new type of agreement that would open up play spaces for after-school and summer use.
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