We’ve gotten stuck bemoaning all the things we can’t do this summer. It ain’t right. To help us feel better (and maybe you too) we’ve made a list (and a Pinterest board!) of things we can do in our cities this summer.
- Make circles in your park (hula hoops will work) and invite a few friends to have a dance off. Bring good music and stay in your circle!
- Give your neighborhood the popsicle test! It’s a rating that urban planners use to determine how good a city is for children. Can a child safely walk to a store, buy a popsicle, and return home before it melts?
- Host a lemonade stand. Or a popsicle stand, if you’ve discovered your neighborhood has a shortage.
- Organize a community sidewalk chalk mural. Find a public space (or just rally participants on your block) and give everyone a section. Work together on a single design (like stained glass) or embrace an abstract vibe.
- Have a social distanced jump rope contest.
- Find a sprinkler to play in, or make one with a garden hose and plastic soda bottle.
- Watch MOTHERLOAD. It’s a documentary about one mom’s fight against isolation and disconnection using a cargo bike and the rich community of families on bikes. If you’ve ever been curious about family biking, this is for you.
- Find a fruit farm outside the city and take a train ride to get there! Pack a picnic and snack on the fruit you pick yourself.
- Go camping!
- Go glamping—pitch a tent in your living room.
- Find a feral patch of nature to explore. They might be closer than you think.
- Try slacklining in the park. Safety tips here!
- Make a donation to your little free library or make your own! Be sure to add it to the world map of libraries.
- Turn your balcony into an oasis with plants and twinkle lights. Add pillows or chairs for max chill.
- Go on a bike ride. Can you hit a 30-day streak of rides?
- Go on a hike, urban or nature. Find a trail near you on the Hiking Project (a great source for bike trails too).
- Calculate the distance between fire hydrants, manholes, access pipes, telephone poles, bus stops, and other infrastructure in the area surrounding your house. Are they all spaced the same distance apart?
- Grab a camera and take photos of the best parts of your hood. Print and display at your local coffee shop or other public place.
- Plant a garden or find a community garden to join.
- Do a book swap with friends
- Rig up a movie outdoors with a sheet and a DIY smartphone projector.
- Eat outside! Every day you can.
- Take turns being tour guides around your neighborhood.
- Create roads on your floor with masking tape for matchbox cars. Avoid congestion (hint: more public transit)!
- Make a stop motion video of the roads you just made.
- Lobby for more open streets in your city (aka shared streets, slow streets).
- Get a new microtransit option: a scooter, skateboard, roller blades, etc.
- Plein air painting is as relaxing as it sounds. Do it at the park or while people watching.
- Ask your kid to guide you to a neighborhood spot. Can they lead you there with little to no guidance?
- Be trash ninjas: pick up litter in your neighborhood. Gloves and ninja masks required.
- Buy a box of ice cream cones and be your own ice cream shop.
- Learn 25 new words in another language spoken frequently around your home.
- Make homemade slushies to cool off.
- Pick up a pizza and eat it in the park under a big tree.
- Design a boat and test it for floatation in the park, your kiddie pool, or even the bathtub.
- Make a stick family and leave them on your friend’s stoop as an anonymous gift.
- Play four square (use chalk to draw the boxes).
- Make stilts with tin cans and string and take a walk around the block.
- Experiment with bubble recipes to make the biggest bubble possible!
- Do a family workout in the park with each person taking turns to be the coach.
- Tally each fire hydrant, bus, manhole cover, street sweeper, crossing guard, bike, etc. you see on your walk.
- Ask your friends to make string art using plastic hoops, embroidery hoops, or even DIY ones out of cardboard and duct tape. Attach each finished hoop together and find a place to hang your design!
- Find a pile of dirt for your kids and a book for yourself. You’ll be surprised at how long they can be entertained.
- Build and fly a kite
- Grow a tree or a berry plant in a pot for your balcony or stoop.
- Make a fairy door for a tree on your block and see if any fairies move in next to you.
- Make recycled art with stuff you collect (like plastic water bottles or tin cans) over the summer and find a place to display it. You could even ask a local business if they can display your creation!
- Make a birdhouse or a birdbath.
- Create unique art by painting on surprising objects like sticks.
- Take up weaving. Use fabric scraps or even bits of nature to make your weaving. Take it to the next level by asking your neighborhood park if you can make a community loom.
- Challenge your family to walk everywhere for a week. Better yet, map out a two-mile circle around your house and commit to always walking to those places!
- Plan a car wash service to raise money for a charity or local cause.
- Paint silly faces on rocks and leave them around your neighborhood to make people smile.
- Make a neighborhood scavenger hunt for a friend and then ask them to make one for you.
- Find an old stump and make a geoboard on it.
- Paint a tic tac toe board on a piece of wood (like a stump) and use rocks for the Xs and Os. Leave in a community area for everyone to enjoy.
- Collect colorful bottle caps from friends and neighbors and make a mural by drilling or gluing them onto a large piece of wood.
- Improve your park. Use this guide to help you get started; it’s made for NYC but the ideas are universal.
- Get a small solar panel and figure out how to generate power for something like twinkle lights.
- Plan a flash installation of paper windmills with your friends. Give everyone the same pattern and tell them the location and day you’ll be installing. Poke each windmill into the ground and watch them spin! Make sure your materials are compostable and clean everything up after a few days.
- Make a cardboard city. 3D for extra challenge!
- Collect cardboard (ask businesses or source it on social media networks) and other supplies and make an adventure playground. You could use this as your Park(ing) day installation too.
- Go on a nature walk and collect flowers, leaves, seeds, and any other interesting bits you can find. Arrange them into a mandela or make a face.
- Organize a food drive for your local pantry
- Grab a bunch of friends and a bunch of cardboard. Make giant puzzle pieces for each person, decorate separately, then piece together your creation!
- Plan a river cleanup
- Turn your sidewalk grass strip into a garden (a quick call to your alderman or councilperson will tell you what is and isn’t allowed in your city)
- Yarnbomb a tree! Or a bench, or a fence. (If it’s not your tree, you should probably ask permission.) If it’s in a public place, find a watertight box to store your extra yarn. Make a sign inviting neighbors to pitch in and wrap the tree! Be responsible and watch your yarnbomb for signs of decay and clean it up when you notice it getting soggy or gross. If you’re worried about yarnbombing, just wrap sticks like the ones shown above.
- Eyebomb! Anthropomorphize different objects in your city using ping-pong eyeballs or google eyes.
- Seedbomb! Launch some seed bombs in an empty lot or a spot that needs more plant life.
- Wheatpaste your favorite character (or create a new one) in discreet spots. (Wheatpasting may be illegal in your city so do your research first!)
- Try your hand at graffiti with washable spray chalk. Spray it on the sidewalk so it’s easily washed off with rain.
- Make a bench and place it in a spot that needs a seat. If you can’t build it, offer to purchase one for a small business with sidewalk space.
- Know of some community improvements in the works? Take the kids to a city council meeting and speak up.
- Search the night skies for the ISS or hubble or your favorite constellation
- Find and join a citizen science project in your city.
- Find some steps and chalk and turn them into a piano.
- Start a compost bin under your sink. You could even try vermicompost!
- Calculate your home’s carbon footprint and brainstorm ways you can reduce it with your family.
- Organize a car-free day for your city using this guide from Open Streets Project.
- Plan a trip out of the city on your commuter train line.
- Pack a picnic using no plastic! Only reusable or compostable items allowed.
- Plant a tree on your street! Contact your city officials for permits and to see if there are any programs to get a free tree like Los Angeles.
- Play a city building game like SimCity or Block by Block
- Get scooters for the whole family!
- Start planning for Park(ing) day on September 20
- Consider cleaning up your alley and install a basketball hoop, garden, twinkle lights, or other improvements to the shared space.
- Make street signs for your city to encourage walking with the help of Walk [Your City].
It’s going to be a good summer. 💙🏙