Exploring the inclusive design process for Carousel House Recreation Center
Parks and recreation centers are meant to serve an entire community, including those with disabilities. However, with an aging building stock and limited resources, creating public spaces that are accessible to all can be a challenge.
The City of Philadelphia has a resident population of roughly 1.56 million, 16 percent of which have a disability. Carousel House, a recreation center, supports the region and a neighborhood in which approximately 21 percent of residents have a disability. It is a prime example of the type of facility that requires public investment in accessible infrastructure to effectively serve all who wish to gather, exercise, and play.
A Community Gem
Accessibility and inclusivity lay the foundation for individuals with physical challenges—or neurodivergent individuals diagnosed with conditions like autism spectrum disorder—to achieve independence and meet their health and recreation goals. Equitable spaces in the community are necessary to foster this growth.
In 2020, the Mayor’s Office of the City of Philadelphia initiated a Title II Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. During the process, a third party reviewed city programs and services to determine gaps in ADA compliance and provide preliminary observations and findings regarding policies and procedures. Carousel House was at the top of the list for suggested improvements.
Constructed in 1987 on Belmont Avenue in West Philadelphia, Carousel House was a milestone achievement—a city-funded, 5.2-acre, indoor and outdoor recreation center dedicated to serving people with disabilities. Currently undergoing significant renovations, Carousel House is once again poised to become a state-of-the-art facility that provides the spaces and programming the community needs. This transformation, led by Rebuild Philadelphia, is part of the city’s historic $500-million investment in renovating public spaces in the most underserved communities.
Once finished, the new and improved Carousel House will be open to people with disabilities as well as to the broader community. This project is aligned with the city’s “Rec for All” inclusion plan, aimed at making its 150 rec centers accessible to all residents. This inclusive approach is not just a focus for Philadelphia locals but reflects an encouraging national shift towards inclusive design.
How The Transformation Will Happen
The Carousel House project will implement adaptive reuse-architecture since the existing structure is functional in many ways. By reorganizing the current interior and adding space for a new gym and pool, the facility will double in size. Adapting the existing structure is an environmentally conscious choice, and the project team is committed to achieving LEED Gold.
The facility updates will include a new gymnasium with space to host wheelchair basketball tournaments, a new lap pool and activity pool with a zero-entry accessibility ramp, larger locker rooms and bathrooms, more storage space, a computer lab, an arts area, a multipurpose atrium, and a sensory room. The project is slated to be one of the largest in the Rebuild portfolio, with a projected budget of over $40 million.
Determining The Appropriate Renovations
Rebuild is part of Philadelphia’s vision to create a more equitable city. The initiative seeks to acknowledge the unique history of each site, meaningfully engage with the community, intentionally invest and uplift pivotal community spaces, and empower neighborhoods to help the community thrive.
Community outreach and engagement are central to Rebuild’s mission and the site-design process to:
- Inform design and programming decisions to serve those who live nearby and visit the community
- Communicate budget realities so communities understand what and how improvements are possible within the budget, and help prioritize investments
- Build support for redesigns and outcomes by ensuring the community’s improvements respond to immediate needs and long-term priorities
- Grow the constituency that will use and steward the project for years to come by fostering a sense of ownership.
As part of community outreach for Carousel House, Rebuild has hosted more than eight community touchpoints—from stakeholder interviews to design workshops—to share information about the proposed indoor spaces and to collect direct feedback from community members. Community meetings have also been accessible virtually. Carousel House’s design-process team has engaged over 300 community members and looks forward to seeing how this new and improved space will reunite the existing community and serve newcomers.
A project like this takes time and patience, but the payoff for the community will be worth it. This thoughtful and thorough approach helps ensure that Rebuild creates a facility guided by the Carousel House community and is a welcoming, safe, and accessible space for all users to enjoy indefinitely.
Rebuild hopes that its work inspires others to address accessibility concerns in community public spaces by engaging government officials and neighbors to create more equitable spaces.
