🛝 Playgrounds for all | Morning Newsletter

Good morning, Philly. September’s start will likely bring clouds and some rain, but the sun returns on Labor Day. And if you’ve been wondering where all the Atlantic hurricanes are, well — forecasters expect a comeback.

Today, we have the story of how parks and playgrounds in the region are prioritizing accessibility with designs that accommodate special needs. Yet in Philadelphia, cost and space constraints mean its efforts still lag behind the suburbs.

And a series of essays continues the debate over Camden’s path forward after state intervention was supposed to turn the beleaguered city around. Read on for these stories and more.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Children with disabilities haven’t always been able to find the equipment they need to enjoy public playgrounds. That’s changing in the Philadelphia region as officials prioritize universal design and retrofitted features that accommodate special needs.

🛝 Design for all: Accessible play spaces might include wider pathways that fit wheelchairs, sensory play panels, single-level equipment, parking lots for those who need to drive, or fencing that makes neurodivergent children feel contained and safe.

🛝 Changes coming: Philadelphia has taken some steps in recent years to ensure city-run playgrounds undergoing renovations include accessible areas. Through the $500 million Rebuild initiative, dozens of playgrounds, parks, and recreation centers have already received these upgrades or are scheduled to.

🛝 Place matters: Most of the region’s models for accessible playgrounds, though, are in the suburbs, where cost and space are often less of an issue.

Communities reporter Nate File spoke to parents and recreation leaders about what it would take to make Philly playgrounds fully accessible.

From 2002 to 2010, a post-industrial Camden’s municipal government was taken over by the state in an attempt to correct for decades of high unemployment and crime. In 2013, New Jersey took control of the school system, too, and it remains there today.

Post-state intervention, many of Camden’s challenges remain. How can the city chart a new path forward? Residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders weigh in with this Inquirer essay series.

🌇 Author and educator Rann Miller: When lawmakers discuss Camden, I hear the same tropes used to justify interventions around the globe

🌇 Photojournalist April Saul: During a year at Camden High, I learned hard lessons about the role of politics in state takeovers

🌇 Former school board member José E. Delgado: I served on Camden’s school board for 27 years. The politics involved made a state takeover inevitable

🌇 Charter school administrator Amir Taron Ayres: Camden parents should be part of the dialogue about how education dollars are spent

🌇 City Councilmember Shaneka Boucher: A key lesson from the state interventions in Camden: local elections matter

🌇 Former school board member Theo Spencer: In Camden, the Sixers’ ‘trust the process’ motto takes on a different meaning for a schools overhaul

🌇 Recent high school graduate Jennifer Duran: Despite the negative stigma associated with Camden, I’m grateful I grew up there

P.S. In other Camden education news, hundreds of Eastside High School students will return this week to a temporary location that will bring some changes while a new school is built.

Which famed director started his career in Philadelphia, calling the city both his “greatest influence” and “one of the sickest, most corrupt, decadent, fear-ridden cities that exists”?

A) M. Night Shyamalan

B) Quentin Tarantino

C) Alfred Hitchcock

D) David Lynch

Think you know? Check your answer.

The budget bus company taking over Megabus’ Philly routes.

Hint: 🧚

ANTE PREP

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Ed Spivack, who solved Friday’s anagram: The Sopranos. The Jersey-set series — often called one of the best television shows of all time — is getting its own documentary.

🎶 Inspired by arts reporter Earl Hopkins’ review of Usher’s Friday Wells Fargo Center show, I’m starting my Sunday morning by reliving the aughts. My pick from the pop-R&B singer’s extensive discography to help you get your groove on, too? Start with “Caught Up.”

Have a great Labor Day. I’ll be back in your inbox on Wednesday.

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