Our Man In Arlington 4-9-2026

It is time for the April edition of my “guest column” concept. This month, I asked Ben D’Avanzo, a resident of the Pentagon City area, to provide a perspective on a topic of his choice. If one were to give a title to his piece, one might call it “An Ode to Arlington’s Playgrounds.” Ben wears many hats as an engaged civic volunteer in Arlington. Among other efforts, Ben is chair of the Crystal and Pentagon Cities Council, an Arlington advisory body, but he is speaking in his personal capacity in this column. And if any of you readers have nominations for a terrific playground, let me know at historybillfogs@gmail.com.

Another View from Arlington: by Ben D’Avanzo

Growing up in the 1990s in a Massachusetts suburb, our town had one main playground that my family would drive to. It was a perfectly fine playground, but getting there was a chore, and one playground meant not a lot of variety. It’s with that experience in mind that I am delighted that I moved into the 22202 area of Arlington in 2017. It is my good fortune that my family lives within a 15-minute walk of half a dozen excellent and different playgrounds.

Before having our two young children, I had generally ignored the playgrounds in Arlington. After all, as a young professional, I found that the restaurants and festivals were much more interesting. But as I have traveled the region with my kids, I have grown grateful for how the county has invested in play infrastructure for families, and I appreciate what that says about our priorities as a community.

From the hill-and-tunnel experience at Long Bridge Park to the bridge and towers at Metropolitan Park to the dual playgrounds at Virginia Highlands, my family has a wealth of options to choose from. It’s that walkable community infrastructure that originally drew my wife and me to Arlington, and now, with our kids, it is what keeps us here. While our surrounding jurisdictions, as well as those across the country, have perfectly fine playgrounds, I have found the options in Arlington to have an “above and beyond” variety and quality. And, of course, it is not limited to our neighborhood. Rocky Run, Bluemont, Fairlington, Chestnut Hills and Mosaic playgrounds are part of our core rotation, each with its own charm.

As our county considers its current budget and the difficult decisions involved, I am glad that we have continued to invest in community infrastructure like playgrounds. I also have some ideas about where we should invest in the future. For example, one only has to head to Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) on any evening to see the value of co-locating restaurants alongside spaces for play. For those who have not been there, this Pentagon City development features a horseshoe of restaurants around two areas, depending on the season: an open turf play area or a skating rink. Many European cities have plazas that perform a similar function, but Westpost appears unique in the region. I know many families that would love to see more playgrounds co-located with other civic and retail functions.

Children are our future. Creating safe, fun and attractive spaces that work for all kinds of families (including children with disabilities) is a core piece of Arlington’s success. You only have to spend time on a playground, hearing the many languages spoken and trading knowing looks with other parents as we wrangle our kids, to understand how important these spaces are as a community equalizer. As we invest in growing our housing infrastructure, work to attract businesses and ensure our policies reflect our equity values, let us appreciate those in the past who chose to invest in innovative, interesting and fun places for our current generation of children to play. And let’s work to emulate them in the future.