July 30, 2015

City of Chicago Celebrates Second Annual PlayStreets Day

New record set for most PlayStreets events held in one summer day

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita today joined hundreds of community members to celebrate the second annual PlayStreets Day in Chicago. PlayStreets, a CDPH youth obesity prevention initiative, closes traffic to specific neighborhood streets for three or more hours to transform the community into safe, supervised play areas for families to stay active and healthy. This year’s PlayStreets Day includes a record-high 16 events in one calendar day. A full schedule can be found at www.playstreetschicago.org.

“Every child in every neighborhood deserves to have a fun and healthy summer,” said Mayor Emanuel. “PlayStreets provides just that, giving our children and their families more opportunities to get and stay active in their communities. This will help residents develop valuable skills and a healthy lifestyle that they will carry through the rest of their lives.”

PlayStreets events usually feature various sport activities, games, bounce houses, dancing, fitness classes, healthy snacks and more. Last summer, more than 26,000 residents participated in 140 PlayStreets events citywide. This year, 60 PlayStreets events have already occurred, with more than 90 scheduled for later this summer.

“Our goal is to create healthier communities,” said Dr. Morita. “And working with our partners to annually implement PlayStreets helps us reach that goal. Together, we are working together to make Chicago the healthiest city in the nation.”

Active Transportation Alliance, World Sport Chicago, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago are coordinating the events this year on behalf of CDPH. They are working with more than 31 grassroots community partners to help host the events and empower residents to take back their streets for fun and fitness.

PlayStreets’ community partners organizing this year’s events include: Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Casa Norte, Centro Romero, Chicago Youth Programs, Chinese Mutual Aid Association, Claretian Associates, Gads Hill Center, Garfield Park Community Council, Howard Area Community Center, Rugby Illinois, IMPACT Family Center, Lamp, Local Motions, Mary Crane League, New Life Centers, New Life Community Church, Northwest Side Housing Center, Onward Neighborhood House, Project Education Plus, Primo Center for Women and Children, Seventh Presbyterian Church, SGA Youth and Family Services, Southeast Community Development Corporation, Southwest Organizing Project, The Community Builders, Universidad Popular, Voice of the People, West Humboldt Park Community Dev Council, West Side Health Authority, and Woodlawn Public Safety Alliance.

PlayStreets is a key component of Healthy Chicago, the citywide public health agenda first launched by Mayor Emanuel and CDPH in 2011. Healthy Chicago outlines more than 200 strategies dedicated to transforming the health of the City through collaborative efforts. Mayor Emanuel and CDPH continue to promote strategic health efforts, including guaranteed recess for students, improved physical activity guidelines at childcare centers and increased access to healthy food options for families across Chicago.

For more information on CDPH and Healthy Chicago visit www.CityofChicago.org/HEALTH.

 

###