2019 Play Streets SF Applications Now Open

Applications are now open for the 2019 season of Play Streets SF, a program empowering San Francisco residents to throw their own series of play-focused block parties on a regular basis and transform their streets into accessible, car-free open space for children, seniors and neighbors to connect. Residents citywide can now get information and apply for their own Play Streets.

With a mission to create healthier, more connected and resilient communities, Play Streets SF provides residents and local organizing teams with the tools needed to reclaim their street for community health and connection - from hassle-free permitting to free safety equipment, outreach tools and play equipment.

Play Streets SF launched in 2017 with an equity-first pilot to ensure the citywide launch was accessible and responsive to the communities who needed it most in San Francisco – African American, Latino, Chinese, Pilipino and Samoan/Pacific Islander communities who all experience disproportionately high rates of poor health. For the first two seasons, Play Streets SF worked solely with communities of concern in San Francisco’s most underserved neighborhoods in terms of open space and recreational opportunities, which also correlates closely with San Francisco’s largest minority communities including Bayview/Hunters Point, Sunnydale/Visitacion Valley, Chinatown and the Excelsior.

Through these collaborations, Livable City has developed a host of resources for the 2019 Play Streets season. From easy-to-host recreational activities like hopscotch, jump rope and street soccer to posters and flyers that are translated into multiple languages, Play Streets SF season helps neighbors focus on community building and fun.

With three to six sessions, each series provides a reliable community space where residents can anticipate and plan. These regular sessions are especially important in neighborhoods that lack open space and recreational opportunities. With three or more sessions, residents become familiar with the program and join in to help, while children quickly catch onto the schedule.

Play Streets SF is presented in partnership with the nonprofit Livable City and the SFMTA. Additional support is provided by the SF Department of Public Health (SFDPH), Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and the SF Planning Department.

Reclaim your streets for public health and community connection with Play Streets SF!