Downtown KC Plays: The Importance of Parks & Playgrounds
By Ann Holliday, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Downtown Council of Kansas City
A CITY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER
Downtown Kansas City is a thriving and diverse community, with 32,000+ residents, 122,000+ workers and 6.1 million annual visitors actively living their lives in the center of our city! Within this larger Downtown area, there are 25 parks, offering acres of open space for recreation and the positive environmental impacts of trees and green space. This Greater Downtown area includes grand spaces like Penn Valley Park, home to the National WWI Museum at the Liberty Memorial, and the more recently activated Berkley Riverfront Park which graces the banks of the Missouri River on the northern edge of Downtown.
However, as you zoom in on the center of Downtown KC, to the Central Business District and the Crossroads Arts District, the tree canopy, green space, and importantly, outdoor areas decrease greatly – in an inverse relationship to the increase in people, and specifically families, living in these areas! And of course, outdoor spaces to recreate and relax are enjoyed by office workers, convention visitors, and tourists in addition to residents.
One of the Imagine Downtown KC 2030 Plan transformative strategies is to invest in a “Green, Beautiful, and Vibrant City Center”; specifically, “a green and walkable Downtown is necessary to attract and retain residents, workers, and visitors, and high-quality, well maintained, and programmed parks are needed by residents of all ages for play and relaxation.”
Currently, two new open spaces are underway in the center of Downtown Kansas City. Barney Allis Plaza is currently under construction at 12th & Wyandotte. Scheduled to open in 2026, it will be “a world-class destination with a thriving, arts-focused green space and areas for both small gatherings and community-wide events.” It will act as a front yard for the many guests accessing the Convention Center, Municipal Auditorium, Music Hall, and adjacent hotels.
The South Loop Project is currently being designed by a team led by HNTB, OJB Landscape Architecture, BNIM Architects, and a bevy of additional specialists. “It is poised to create a world-class, 5.5-acre urban park, which will serve as a vibrant community hub.” The design includes an extensive play area designed with the assistance of Studio Ludo, a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 2015 whose mission is building better play through research, design, and advocacy. They have over 20 years of design experience and are trained in playground safety and risk-benefit assessment. Throughout this time, Studio Ludo has gathered extensive play behavior data, helping them quantify how health can be improved through play. They have partnered with many cities including New York City, London, and Philadelphia to name a few, and completed a national study of playgrounds.
At a recent meeting, they shared some of their findings that are guiding the design of the significant play spaces planned for the South Loop Project:
- Twice as many people will use playgrounds that are innovative and well-designed
- Five times more people will use playgrounds within a 10-minute walk – human scale and convenience are important
- Twice as many people will use playgrounds near mature trees – people like to be connected to nature
- Half of all playground users are not children – playgrounds are for all ages
- Most popular equipment:
- Swings are the preferred play equipment for all ages,
- followed by open-ended climbing,
- followed by towers (scaled for teens/adults)
- Followed by high-speed features (slides and zip lines)
- Water play increases physical activity in kids by 80 %
A few additional things we learned, great playgrounds include adventure and nature play and are accessible to everyone. Their design is informed by context and the environment and includes opportunities for both physical and sensory play.
Another tidbit – half of the people in playgrounds are not children so in addition to creating a great place to play; it is important to create a great place to stay, for their care providers, for instance. Parks should support the entire family staying and enjoying them!
So, what does all of this mean? It means the Downtown Council is earnestly working with our private and public sector partners to create and maintain a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable Downtown Kansas City that PLAYS. Stay tuned for more updates and ways to participate in the future of Downtown as we steadily continue to implement the Downtown KC 2030 Strategic Plan.
