The Dorchester Neighborhood Backyard project will transform vacant land at Elmhurst and Spencer-Whitfield streets into two neighborhood playgrounds for young children, complete with communal play areas, artistic elements, spray fountains, play equipment, swing sets, picnic tables, and lawns. Neighbors are working together to improve recreational opportunities for young children and families, including environmental education and active recreation opportunities for adolescents and teenagers, and to create gathering places to celebrate community events.

The expected long-term outcomes of the project include: fostering cohesive neighborhoods in Codman Square; reducing crime; attracting businesses; stabilizing property values; and improving the quality of life for the residents of Codman Square, specifically in the area west of Washington Street. We anticipate that the Neighborhood Backyard project will be a model for other neighborhood parks in Boston.

Why here?

Dorchester needs more parks - Dorchester is the largest and most multi-racial of Boston’s neighborhoods, home to 92,115 residents (16% of City population) living on thirteen percent of the land area in the City of Boston. While Boston should be proud to be a “well-parked” city with an average of 10.11 acres of public open space per 1000 residents, Dorchester is seriously deficient in open space and recreational areas. Dorchester averages only 4.84 acres of open space per 1,000 residents, and Codman Square has only 1.9 park acres per 1,000 residents.

The children of Dorchester are underserved - Dorchester is home to 27% of Boston’s children under 17. Of the 10,360 residents of Codman Square, 33% are under age 17, and 99% of those children were identified on the 2000 Census as members of the non-dominant culture (non-white, of Latino origin, or both). The population of youth in Dorchester increased at a rate of 10% from 1990 to 2000, compared to 6% in Boston as a whole. The median household income in Dorchester in 1999 was $31,551, leaving 28% of the population below the poverty line, with 44% of those citizens under the age of 19.

The sites are ideal for Codman Square’s children and families - While Dorchester boasts some of the best park resources the City of Boston offers, they are separated from Codman Square by distance and heavily-used roads. With those resources not easily accessible for families in Codman Square, the 3,437 children in the neighborhood have few safe, accessible places to play. The Neighborhood Backyards will provide a playground resource to families on each side of Talbot Avenue west of Washington Street.