Safety Analysis

Playgrounds in Unsafe Areas:

Map 5: Playground Density Compared to Crime Hot Spots

The above map shows a heatmap of playground locations layered on top of hot spot analysis of crime incidents in 2021. It is interesting to note that the highest concentration of playgrounds in DC seems to be colocated with the highest concentration of crime within DC.

Marquet et al. (2019) studied the correlation between crime incident rates and park usage in those areas where crimes take place. They concluded that there is a negative association between these two variables, indicating that in areas of higher crime parks would be less likely to be used, especially for younger children. This highlights an issue for decision makers within Washington DC. In order to encourage playground usage among resident children, there should either be a concentrated effort to reduce crime in the areas directly surrounding playgrounds, or additional playgrounds built in areas with low crime. An additional factor to be considered is if the presence of a park or playground contributes to crime taking place in an area, which should be addressed in further research.

Playgrounds to Unsafe Incidents

Map 6: Crime and Accident Incidents in Immediate Area Around Playgrounds

Examining Map 6, we can see a .25 mile buffer surrounding each playground. This buffer area is larger than the 300 feet recommended for safe speeds (discussed below), but smaller than a one mile radius to decrease the overlap between playground areas for increased visibility. Aggregated within each buffer area are counts of crime incidents or crash incidents within that buffer for 2021. The two datasets show similar distribution, with the least safe parks clustered around the center of the city.

Map 7: Speed Limits of Roads Around Playgrounds

The Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC) describes a statute laying out a requirement for reduced speed 300 feet around any playground or school crosswalks, as well as allowing for a local government to estabilish a safe zone with speed limitation on roads near these areas. In order to evaluate if this guidance is being followed, Map 7 shows each playground in Washington DC with a buffer of 300 feet layered atop the city’s roads. Roads are visualized according to their speed limit, with those roads above the 20 miles per hour (MPH) guidance for safe zones visualized in red. There a number of areas where roads with speed limits above the recommended 20 MPH are located within the 300 foot safety zone buffer of a given playground. This map shows areas where safe zones could potentially be implemented to make playgrounds more safe.