The project aims to gain an all-inclusive playground in Macon, GA.

What is an ‘all-inclusive’ playground? An all-inclusive playground is designed to be accessible and welcoming to children and adults of all abilities, ages, and communities. Common use cases for ‘all-inclusive’ playgrounds include wheelchair-bound children who physically can’t play with traditional playground equipment and neurodivergent children who gravitate to sensory play stations.

The immediate uses of Knight ECC funds are:

1. Facilitated luncheon and focus group with local organizations and their members to provide feedback on playground location and equipment,
2. A luncheon with local area leaders to hear from playground subject matter experts, and
3. An open-to-the-public film screening to read out findings from Macon’s Most Inclusive Playground Knight ECC project.

Jonathan has identified the partners he will likely work with to execute project goals and started reaching out to coordinate. They are:

• Local disability organizations: Arc Macon, Star Choices, Parent-to-Parent of GA, Community Service Board of Middle
  GA
• Film partner: The Macon Film Guild
• Luncheon Partners: Rotary Club Macon GA
• Playground Partner: Unlimited Play

Playground Data Gathering and Insights

Jonathan surveyed and collected data for each of Macon’s 13 public playgrounds. Jonathan found that of the 13 public playgrounds, only one had genuinely accessible elements woven into them (e.g., swings with seatbelts, ground-level sensory play stations, rubber flooring, ramps up to playground equipment), but had lots of room for improvement (e.g., better-functioning or updated equipment).

Two playgrounds had one or two elements of accessible playground equipment but were difficult to access because of wood chips!

So, let’s say a parent went to a secured swing at Henry Burns Park, they would have to lift their child off the wheelchair, carry them several yards, and then employ extraordinary coordination to get them into the swing. The equipment is designed for accessibility but not constructed for it.

This presents a low-hanging fruit solution for ‘updating’ already-existing infrastructure.

To inform playground site selection, Jonathan wanted to understand how playgrounds were distributed throughout the county and where potential impact opportunities lie. He identified open playgrounds, their dimensions (e.g., public/private land, free/commercial), and zip code alignment. This was done to identify if there were any glaring gaps in playground distribution for the county.

You could make many different cuts on data like this. You could slice by whether the land is public vs. private or whether the space is free. In the visuals above, we are looking at all open-to-the-public playgrounds. There are many nuances here: some playgrounds are better than others. 31052 appears lacking in playgrounds, but its proximity to Lake Tobesofkee might mitigate that.

Jonathan’s chief challenge is carving out time to work on the project. Between work, kids, and everything else, it was hard to consistently contribute to the project (particularly during the work week). Fortunately, much of what’s left can be done from a managerial perspective. Further, he will prioritize carving out weekends to focus on this project.

In the next six months, he’ll focus on executing the project:

• Building out an execution plan through project finalization,
• Connecting with local playground SMEs to share insights,
• Reconnecting with Unlimited Play (our playground partner) to coordinate a panel luncheon,
• Working with Macon Rotary to ID a luncheon opportunity,
• Continuing to work contacts at local disability-oriented organizations, and
• Working with the Macon Film Guild to coordinate a documentary viewing.

About Jonathan Wetherbee

Jonathan is a former strategy consultant and current corporate marketing manager for UPS. He’s passionate about bringing business tactics and perspectives to space-making and design.

When Jonathan took his 2- and 4-year-old kids to playgrounds in Atlanta and San Francisco, he noticed that their playgrounds were more thoughtful and inclusive. The swings, roundabouts, and play structures fostered ease of use and community building among the children.