The Playground Association of America was formed to support and expand the playground movement. In America this movement began in Boston, Massachusetts as a solution to problems stemming from increasing urbanization, industrialization, and immigration.

Since 2007, Mike Lanza has posted to his blog, Playborhood, longing for the "Leave it to Beaver" days that seem to be lost forever. Concerned that unstructured free play has "virtually vanished from the lives of most children in America," he is committed to voicing his concerns to build a community of parents who will become more aware of the problems and seek to implement the best solutions.

The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) launched The Sara Lee Schupf Family Center for Play, Science, and Technology Learning (SciPlay) in September 2010. Sara Schupf created the Center to engage more children with science concepts and scientific thinking through outdoor playgrounds.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) National Partnership is a network of organizations dedicated to creating "safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to and from schools." In doing so, they seek to reduce traffic congestion, improve the air quality around schools due to the reduction of traffic, and to increase children's activity and thereby reduce the risk of obesity and obesity-related health problems.

PlayCore, the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI), and American Trails joined together to create Pathways for Play, a program to create walking, hiking, and biking trails that have "play pockets" along the way. These play opportunities vary in size and contain a mix of natural and manufactured play elements, which are linked by pathways, greenways, trails, or sidewalks to encourage continuous movement.