Pinecrest announces its selection as a "Playful City USA" for 2012.

Click the headline to review the full release: KaBOOM! Names Pinecrest Among 213 "Playful City USA" Communities

Pinecrest joins Coral Gables, Doral, Miami Lakes, North Miami, and Palmetto Bay as the Miami-Dade County cities that made the list.  Palmetto Bay has been a "Playful City USA” since 2010. 

Playful City USA is a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children and is a key platform in combating the play deficit. 

There are 213 Playful City USA honorees from 41 states.  The range in size from six-time honorees such as Orlando and Phoenix to first-time recipient Pinecrest. These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to play and physical activity by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community.

A primary goal of Playful City USA is to encourage municipalities to share ideas, concepts and programs in an effort to increase play opportunities for children. The 213 Playful City USA communities are now eligible for $15,000, $20,000 and $30,000 grants via Let's Play, a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, to get kids and families active nationwide. Grant recipients will be announced in June 2012.

For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, please visit www.playfulcityusa.org.