Why Philly: Transforming Everyday Spaces into Powerful Opportunities for Growth
- vicki033
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 24
A City of Urgency and Opportunity
Philadelphia is America’s poorest large city, with more than 30% of its children living in poverty. Affordable, family-friendly housing is in high demand, and many families rent rather than own. Despite the city’s recent economic growth, its benefits remain unequally shared — leaving children in under-resourced neighborhoods behind in critical early skills like language, literacy, and spatial reasoning. These early gaps can persist for life.
Math and Literacy Rates
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Children spend nearly 80% of their time outside of school — which means learning must also happen beyond the classroom walls. Research shows that everyday environments can become powerful learning tools when designed with purpose. That’s where Playful Learning Landscapes come in: an approach that transforms public and private spaces into rich, engaging experiences that spark curiosity and support child development. These spaces invite children to learn through what comes naturally — moving, exploring, collaborating, asking questions, and imagining new possibilities.
The Birthplace of a Movement
Philadelphia is where the Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) movement began in 2013. What started as a local effort has grown into a national model for embedding Playful Learning opportunities into everyday gathering spots—think bus stops, athletic courts, corner lots, grocery stores, libraries, lobbies—into enriching activity hubs for children and families.
To date, 79 PLL projects have been implemented across Philadelphia, showcasing the creativity and diversity of its neighborhoods.
A Citywide Commitment
Philadelphia is unique in its citywide commitment to Playful Learning. From the Free Library and Parks & Recreation to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Mayor’s Office of Children and Families (OCF), a broad coalition of institutions is working together to bring Playful Learning into every corner of the city.
In particular, the Mayor’s OCF has articulated a bold vision:
Philadelphia children and families will have increased access to high quality play opportunities that:
Elevate community stewardship through community-driven co-design
Boost families’ use, civic engagement, and activity in public spaces within their own communities
Reflect cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity
Increase intergenerational interactions
Optimize children’s early developmental skills, language use, learning, and self-regulation and social-emotional skills
Are required to be incorporated within public space design projects and bidding processes.
To that end, strategies are being employed to advance the vision to include a combination of Playful Learning programming together with Playful Learning physical environments to create a Playful Learning City!
As of the fall of 2025, the following map indicates where Playful Learning programs and built environments occur in and around Philadelphia:
Learning Where Children Live
One powerful frontier for Playful Learning is affordable housing. In partnership with the William Penn Foundation, community developers, architects and community organizations, Live and Learn was realized as a pilot initiative to test the concept. The goal was to embed learning directly into the places where families live. These efforts aim to support school readiness, social-emotional development, and long-term success for children most affected by structural inequities and lack of local resources.
Why Now?
The disparities in educational opportunity — closely tied to race, income, and neighborhood — make it clear: Philadelphia cannot wait. Playful Learning leverages the city’s built environment to close opportunity gaps and empower families. It is a locally grown, community-driven solution to a deeply rooted challenge.
It Takes a Village
Playful Learning in Philadelphia relies on a dynamic and expanding network of partners — from City Council members and community development corporations to designers and fabricators — all united by a shared mission: to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive. This spirit of collaboration is more than a promise — it’s proof. Philadelphia is showing what’s possible when an entire city learns together.
