Put Swings back on the Playgrounds of Detroit

There will be lots more to say about the 'why playgrounds aren't better' question (there's no time limit on your responses), but I think at least one piece of the answer is that the funding mechanisms currently available presume a certain type of playground...one that is heavily dependent on stock manufactured components.

One counter to that is bypassing traditional funding sources by going directly to donors, and in this arena kickstarter has not only stepped out of the box, but broken it to pieces. Their brilliant approach is to use what is essentially a renaissance-style patronage model, only now anybody, not just kings and queens, can be a patron! So I was pleased to find this project by a group that calls itself the 'Detroit Mower Gang' and wants to put swings back on the empty swing frames of Detroit:


I know I've got lots of readers, but let's try an experiment to see how much of a playground community we are!
If you back the swings for Detroit (and you can do so for as little as a dollar) after seeing this, leave a comment on the kickstarter project after backing that you heard about it on playscapes. Or if you don't feel comfortable doing that, leave it here in my comments.

Please note that although the Detroit swing project had a modest goal (just $800, probably to make sure they met it), the founder says that to replace all the swings will be closer to $7000. Since this is a group of people already mowing the parks of Detroit with their own lawnmowers, I have no doubt they'll make good use of the funds.

Let's be a playscapes community!

AT 11OO US CST THE KICKSTARTER SITE IS HAVING INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS...PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER. IF THE ABOVE LINK DOESN'T WORK BUT YOU CAN GET TO KICKSTARTER.COM DO A SEARCH ON 'DETROIT SWINGS'.