Right now, we have the “green light” from our partners in the City of Richmond –– and 100% of the construction funds from $2 million grant from the State of California –– to completely and radically transform everything about Elm Playlot: how it is designed, built, and run.

This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to wipe the slate clean, start anew, and create a new model for an inner-city park and playground that actually works. Transforming Elm Playlot into a “Pogo Park” can function as a public health intervention.

For any park to “work,” it must come from –– and be woven into –– the bones of a community. In other words, the vision for Elm Playlot must come from community residents themselves –– those who know best what their community needs.

That’s what we’re working on, right now. We recruited a diverse team of community residents, some of whom played at Elm Playlot as children. They are part of our “EPAC” team (Elm Playlot Action Committee).

Our approach: invest in and empower the EPAC team to re-imagine and re-build Elm Playlot. What will it take to make Elm Playlot work? What do we need to do to make kids want to come?  What do we need to do to encourage the community to take ownership in the fate of this little park? These are the questions our small team is tackling when we meet to design, plan, build, and staff the park.

So far, we’ve come up with a list of things we like: a children’s sandbox with a removable lid that is locked at night so no dogs or cats can use it for a litter box. A separate totlot for toddlers with a little hill, open space, bucket swings, and seats for parents. An office for our “Park Host,” -- a resident from the community who staffs Elm Playlot to ensure it is safe, welcoming, and clean for children and their families. A “Global Village” (child-sized repicas of a tipi, yurt, and log cabin) under the sycamore trees so that kids can make up imaginary games. A rock cave and zip line. A clean bathroom and drinking water. A snack bar.

A scale-model, built entirely by hand by neighborhood residents, is shown below. To see additional photos, please visit our “community input” page. 

“In an age of childhood obesity and children tethered to electronic consoles, playgrounds have rarely been more important.”

David Rockwell,

New York Times Op-Ed page

September 26, 2010

Who We Are: Pogo Park is an entrepreneurial, grass-roots, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Richmond, California.

Our Mission:  To transform lives by transforming public space.

Our Vision:  To create magical play spaces for children everywhere.

What We Do:  We are rebuilding Elm Playlot, a small (.5 acre) city park and playground in Richmond that lies in the heart of Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood – a once-proud and vibrant inner-city neighborhood now devastated violent crime, widespread blight, and deep poverty.  

Why Pogo Park is Important: By re-designing and re-building Elm Playlot, Pogo Park is developing a new model for how to “turn the lights on” in the thousands of inner-city parks and playground, now lying unused and dormant, in neighborhoods with the highest need for great parks.

This project to transform Elm Playlot is revealing itself to be a potent catalyst for both child development and community development.

This six-minute video explains who we are and what we do.  

POGO PARK STORY 

Watch this informative story about Pogo Park from New American Media.