West Pullman's Rainwater-Fighting Playground Is Protecting Homes — One Storm at a Time

By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/West Pullman · April 23, 2026

A West Pullman schoolyard is quietly doing something remarkable: soaking up the sky. The specially designed playground at Ronald Brown Elementary Academy, 12607 S. Union Ave., is making headlines this week as a powerful model for climate resilience on the Far South Side — and it's proving that smart design can turn a schoolyard into a neighborhood shield.

The playground, developed through the Space to Grow program — a partnership between nonprofits Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands, along with Chicago Public Schools, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and the City of Chicago — features a basketball court, football field, running track, and children's play equipment. But its secret superpower is what happens underground: the green infrastructure captures more than 300,000 gallons of water per rain event, averaging nearly one million gallons absorbed per year. That's stormwater that would otherwise flood basements and back up neighborhood sewers. 'This schoolyard helps reduce that pressure on the sewer system,' said Kenneth Varner, community engagement manager for the Healthy Schools Campaign. Ronald Brown Academy science teacher Angela Gilliam put it simply: 'This helps not only our school, it helps the community.'

The success of West Pullman's Space to Grow playground is already inspiring expansion — four more Chicago schools are slated to receive similar green schoolyards. For a neighborhood that has battled decades of infrastructure challenges, Ronald Brown's sponge playground is proof that investment in West Pullman's youngest residents pays dividends for the whole community. Want to learn more about the Space to Grow program or advocate for green schoolyards near you? Visit spacetogrowchicago.org and let your voice be heard.

Sources:
1. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/west-pullman-playground-flooding-prevention-climate-change/