PlayStreets in Chicago is a collaborative initiative for healthier and stronger communities by creating safe and accessible residential play areas for kids to be active, to learn, and for neighbors to come together. A grant program from the Chicago Department of Public Health supports two community-based organizations to provide local leadership in the development of PlayStreets in targeted community areas. A permit program allows residents to establish short-term traffic restrictions on their streets to use as pop-up recreation spaces.

Healthy Chicago 2.0 PlayStreets Grants

Since 2012, the Chicago Department of Public Health has issued summer implementation grants and offered technical support to various community-based organizations for the development of PlayStreets in targeted community areas. These grants serve as one of several strategies CDPH leads as part of Healthy Chicago 2.0, a plan to advance health equity across Chicago’s neighborhoods by bridging service gaps and looking at root causes for disparities in health outcomes.

Implementing community-based organizations will help organize residents to create safe, accessible environments where youth and families can be physically active, learn, create, come together, and have fun. CDPH’s annual grants are expected to sponsor and create more than 150 such PlayStreets activations over the summer months through more than two dozen community-based organizations.

If you have any questions, please email: miguel.lopez2@cityofchicago.org