Community Involvement

This section of the Toolkit will help you involve your WHOLE community in your playspace project. Your playspace may primarily serve young people, but it will be planned, built, cared for and enjoyed by every member of the community. As the community is involved in the planning, organizing and building of this playspace, there will be a sense of ownership there that will motivate them to care for the area.

In this section, we will cover the following:

What are Assets?

One of the most critical phases of your playspace planning lies in tapping into your community's "assets".

Assets are the skills, talents, and gifts of individuals, associations, businesses, and institutions in your community.

Volunteers hug after building a playground.

Community members and business owners in your town may not have cash to give, but in this part of the Toolkit, you will learn how to leverage what they can give, whether it's time, a hand-made craft, a yummy baked treat, their bilingual language skills or another useful resource. This approach to community organizing is commonly referred to as Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD).

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)

Asset-Based Community Development is a positive, community-based approach to community organizing. Quite simply, ABCD builds on what a community has by focusing on the positives and the strengths present in every community.

An important element of ABCD is "connecting the dots" between and among community assets through relationship building. By making and building on these connections, you widen the circle of community involvement and build stronger networks that sustain a community over time.

Learn more about Asset-Based Community Development.