The Home Owners Loan corporation branch of New York gave Harlem in the city a red ratting. By the mid-twentieth century, Harlem had become an African American ghetto. There many different ethnic ghettos situated in cities all over the country. The red rating of Harlem made it extremely difficult for low-income families to own homes as the government was not backing any mortgages. No money was being invested in the city to ameliorate people’s lives, so no playgrounds and public parks were being built. The city as playground is a collection depicting the enrichments systems children had when they wanted to escape discrimination or factory work. The collection shows a series of playgrounds or makeshift playgrounds that children had to play with. This image shows a bunch of African American children playing darts using a wooden fence as the board. Eight kids of a variety of ages all gathered around the “dartboard” to calculate their points. Children’s lives were beginning to be affected by the discriminatory system of redlining and children were pushing back with these makeshift playgrounds.