Latest News

April 29, 2025

by Joel Umanzor

At the edge of Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, a highly anticipated community park project more than 10 years in the making is close to becoming a reality along the Richmond Greenway Trail.

Pogo Park — a nonprofit community development organization that converts blighted city parks into safe green children’s play spaces — has been working since 2013 with the city, Richmond LAND and neighborhood residents to transform the two-block Harbour-8 Park into a place that has everything from a fun zone with a 25-foot, three-story transparent climbing structure to a tot lot, a commercial kitchen and a 100-foot zip line mounted on a rubber surface hand-crafted by team members to look like a volcano.

While they’re still raising the last $6 million of what is a $28 million project, the first phase is expected to be open by July, said Toody Maher, executive director of Pogo Park.

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June 27, 2024

By Kathy Chouteau

Pogo Park is hosting its 2^nd Annual Carnival Friday, July 19 from 3-7 p.m. at Elm Playlot in Richmond.

A recipe for fun is in store for people of all ages at the carnival, which will double as a fundraiser supporting the nonprofit’s work. Pogo Park transforms city parks in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood into safe, green, beautiful public spaces for children.

Games, attractions, snacks and photos will be part of the carnival’s mix, with Pogo Park Executive Director Toody Maher sharing there will be a jumper, mechanical bull, choo-choo train, 360 photo booth, splash tower, popcorn, snow cones and great music.

The purchase of $12 tickets is necessary to enjoy the various carnival activities. Tickets can be pre-purchased at Pogo Park/Elm Playlot now through July 19 between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will also be available at the event gate the day of the carnival.

Pogo Park asks that parents be present to supervise children age 18 and younger.

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May 20, 2024

By Kathy Chouteau

Get ready for a 70s-style blast from the past when Pogo Park hosts its “Throwback Skate Party” Friday, May 24 from 4-8 p.m. at Pogo Park #1/Elm Playlot in Richmond.

Community members can bring their own skates or rollerblades, or rent some wheels ($2), and enjoy a roll around the park to music by DJ Marquee Anderson. Popcorn ($1) and lemonade ($1) will be on hand, as will an opportunity to capture the moment in a photo booth ($2).

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May 15 2024

By Mike Aldax and Kathy Chouteau

A growing park in the heart of the Iron Triangle will soon become a community resource hub throughout the year and during emergencies thanks to a new, $10 million grant.

California’s Strategic Growth Council recently awarded the grant to the Pogo Park, the nonprofit staffed by residents of the Iron Triangle that works to turn underserved spaces into flourishing neighborhood parks.

The grant is being used to create Contra Costa County’s first Community Resilience Center (CRC) at Harbour-8 Park, located at Harbour Way on the Richmond Greenway.

Pogo Park began transforming Harbour-8 Park from an underutilized two-block stretch of the Greenway about a decade ago, installing children’s play areas, community gardens and other amenities. The nonprofit also created and maintains a separate park oasis called Elm Playlot at Elm Avenue and 8th Street.

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May 7, 2024

By Aly Brown

After winning a highly competitive state grant, one small nonprot will build a
new recreation center this year that will double as an emergency shelter during
climate and other emergencies.

With a $10 million Community Resilience Center grant, Pogo Park – a Richmond
nonprot with a mission to transform lives by transforming public spaces – will
construct Contra Costa County’s rst CRC at Harbour-8 Park. Harbour-8 is a
two-block park on the Richmond Greenway, which is a 2.5-mile trail landscaped
with community gardens and art.

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Richmond, CA, May 1, 2024 – California’s Strategic Growth Council awarded a $10 million “CRC grant” to Richmond nonprofit, Pogo Park, to transform Harbour-8 Park, a two-block park on the Richmond Greenway, into Contra Costa County’s first Community Resilience Center (CRC).

Community Resilience Centers provide shelter and resources during climate and other emergencies, as well as year-round services and programming that strengthen community connections and build resilience.

As part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $48 billion California Climate Commitment, the CRC grant aims to build climate resilience in California’s most underserved communities.

In a highly competitive statewide grant program, out of nearly 200 applicants, Pogo Park was only one of nine CRC implementation projects recommended for funding.

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Published: April 24, 2024

SACRAMENTO, CA – April 24, 2024 – Today, the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) approved $93.6 million to help build climate resiliency centers in neighborhoods most impacted by extreme heat and other climate related issues, fulfilling part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $48 billion California Climate Commitment. This funding is part of Round One of the Community Resilience Centers (CRC) program, which falls under California’s Climate Adaption Strategy and Extreme Heat Action Plan.

“These community resilience centers will serve as beacons of hope, empowering neighborhoods on the front lines of the climate crisis to drive proactive, community-driven action,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

SGC, which is made up of three public members and seven heads of State agencies, voted to approve the $93.6 million of CRC funding to be divided between four Project Development Grant awardees and nine Project Implementation Grant awardees. In February, the Council voted unanimously to approve close to $5 million in funding to 11 Planning Grant projects.

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How Richmond’s Pogo Park is changing the narrative of a struggling community

By Beki San Marin

Richmond, CA January 9, 2024 Frederick Law Olmsted once said that parks had the potential to serve as the lungs of a city. If he were alive today and could see the magic that unfolds at Pogo Park, he’d likely note that it’s the heart and pulse of Richmond’s Iron Triangle. 

Forty-two-year-old Robin Doss has lived in Richmond for all of her life, but Pogo Park’s been a game changer for her since she discovered it a few years ago. On the kick-off of winter, during the park’s first-ever Winter Wonderland, Doss smiled from her wheelchair as she watched community members ice skate for the first time and children bounce in a gigantic snowman-shaped bouncy house or ride around the park in a train, as holiday tunes blared in Spanish.

“It makes me feel good to see children feeling happy and enjoying themselves,” Doss said. 

Pogo Park’s inaugural Winter Wonderland removed the barriers of distance and cost that so often prevent people from experiencing winter fun like ice skating, which can cost $18-$20 per person and requires people to travel outside the community, which isn’t possible for many families. It also made everything from hot cocoa and electronic reindeer rides to ziplining, bouncing and skating free and centrally accessible to everyone.

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Richmond, CA December 11, 2023 — Pogo Park will offer free ice skating to the community at its Winter Wonderland Festival at Elm Playlot (Pogo Park) on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 21-22.

Winter Wonderland will take place at Elm Playlot, 720 Elm Ave., from 3-9 p.m. both days.

The free community event encourages families to skate under the starts, ride the mechanical reindeer, jump for joy in the jumper, and enjoy other holiday activities, like a free cup of hot chocolate, according to Pogo Park.

Ice skating will be offered in 20-minute time slots. Register online here or stop by the Pogo Park office
at Elm Playlot M-F from 1-4 p.m. to register.

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April 12, 2023

Jason Corburn, Joseph Griffin, Brandon Harris & David Padilla

ABSTRACT

This case study explores how an urban, low-income, community in Richmond, California, came together to reclaim a local park, redesign and redevelop it, and the impacts that process and the new green space is having on local residents. The park is called Elm Playlot and the community group, Pogo Park. Methods used to generate the case study included original document review, participant observation, and interviews, as well as data from two community surveys and a youth photovoice project. The case study emphasizes that urban health promoting and healing physical and social transformations must be co-created, community leadership, ownership and economic benefits must be prioritized, and decade-long commitments from residents, local government and non-governmental organizations, not one alone, are necessary. We also found that redevelopment of Pogo Park contributed to significant reductions in self-reported fear of violence and improvements in community social connections, trust and overall stress for those living in the parks’ Iron Triangle neighborhood. Further, two years after the completion of the park, life expectancy in the neighborhood had increased by five years, the number of gun homicides was reduced by over 30%, and almost 60% of residents were rating their health as good or excellent.

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