What type of cities do we want our children to grow up in? Car-dominated, noisy, and devoid of nature? Or walkable, playable and green? The answer to this question will be clear. The book 'Urban playground' looks for ways in which you can achieve the latter by describing different projects, principles and tools.
How, when and how often children play outside is influenced by several factors (Helleman, 2018). Space, time, the right adult attitudes and the presence of other children are one of the crucial factors (figure 1). This book focus on the first one (space): how can we arrange and design the urban space if want to expand the opportunities for children to live, play, explore, grow up and get around? Tim Gill, a well-known name in the field, has travelled the world, sifted through the professional literature and used his experiences as a design council ambassador to give different answers to this question.
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| Figure 1. The play pyramid (source: Gill, 2021) |
More than just playgrounds
The book consists of clearly distinguishing parts. The book opens with an introduction to urban planning and children (chapter 1) and the reasons why this relation is important (chapter 2). On the one hand to indicate that the vast majority of urban planning decisions and projects still take no account of their impact on children, and make no effort to seek children's views and experiences seriously. And on the other hand to demonstrate the importance of a child-friendly environment, for example to prevent child obesity and to enrich different skills (see also the article 'Playable cities: why?').
The main plea here is (and also in the final chapter) that we should look beyond the flat, tired, fenced-off and age-defined playgrounds with fixed and manufactured play equipment. Which are - thanks to a recurring design template - "depressingly sterile and consistently unimaginative" (p. 19). Places that Americans call the 'cookie cutter' playgrounds. Australians call them 'plastic fantastics' and in the UK the term 'KFC playground' (kit, fence and carpet) is used. Just as Colin Ward (1978) the author asks to turn the playground inside-out: "rather than building play reservations, the job of the child-friendly planner/designer is to remove the fences and gates, and invite children into the public realm and beyond" (p.20). With other words: child-friendly planning is also about walking and cycling networks and about other public spaces such as nature areas, left-over spaces, and squares. And let me add an important one to this list: the sidewalk.
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| Bad practice in Den Hoorn (the Netherlands) |
Case studies
How these goals are pursued in various cities in the world is described in chapters 3 (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and chapter 4 (thirteen case studies in ten countries). Rotterdam gets its own chapter because this is - according to the author - "the city that has arguably devoted more time, money and energy to the approach than any other, and whose investment is grounded in hard-nosed economic priorities" (p. VIII). A city that due its car-centric form (unusually for a Dutch city) also has a lot of catching up to do. But the municipality is working hard on that by making schoolyards and public spaces greener and more playful, by improving walking and cycling routes, by traffic calming measures, and by removing space for car parking and widen pavements.
In chapter 4 we get a sneak peak of projects from for example post-Communist Tirana (Albania), post-industrial Antwerp (Belgium), Nordic Oslo (Norway) and tropical Recife (Brazil). Some descriptions are very brief, but nevertheless arouse interest. Fortunately, for those readers, there is the Internet for more information on the cases.
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| 'Parco giochi Melide' (Switzerland) |
In the preface the author emphasizes that the book also wants to look at the political, social, economic and ethical barriers for change. A high ambition, which is only partially fulfilled. In most case studies we read little about that context. When reading the various projects, you get few insights into whether the output is unique for that city or country. Nor what governance hurdles have been encountered and overcome.
Another missed opportunity is that the case studies are mostly a description of the activities (input) and the delivered products (output). Little is said about the short- to medium-term effects of the interventions (outcome). What do children think of the adjustments made? Is there more outdoor play thanks to the completed projects? What lessons have been learned? Interesting questions that are not always answered. Which - by the way - cannot be blamed on the author because few impact measurements are performed in the field yet. However, the choice could have been made not to describe fourteen cities on the basis of existing documents and interviews, but to conduct research into those effects in only a few cities. Maybe this is an idea for a sequel.
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| Playground in 'Jardin des Tuileries' in Paris (France) |
Handbook and toolkit
While the earlier chapters are inspiring, the strength of the book is chapter 5. It offers nine principles, four building blocks of child-friendly neighbourhoods, and eighteen tools for child-friendly planning. The principles are discussed first and then the building blocks. In between, the tools are being presented with text frames. Although this - somewhat contrived - tripartite division may be a bit too much for just one chapter, here you really get an overload of interesting insights how cities can make change happen. It is about diversity, inclusion, political champions, engagement methods, planning data, maintenance, supportive programming, taming traffic, and so much more. All ingredients pass by. Sometimes this is limited to a few keywords where more depth is desired, but those who want to be flooded with interesting perspectives and measurements will not be disappointed.
Numerous lists pass by: a top ten of actions that will improve streets for children; the 'five Cs' of a good walking network (connected, convivial, conspicuous, comfortable, convenient); ten landscape-led play design objectives; a checklist for teen-friendly parks; etcetera. Personally, I was particularly charmed by the activity-based checklists that help to shift the design and research focus away from the presence, state and safety of play equipment towards the richness and variety of the play offers. The focus shouldn't be on what's there (supply), but what a child can do on a certain spot (demand). With this shift a feature in public space becomes something that allows a possible use or activity. Gill shows that these so-called 'play affordances' can be stimulated by (1) making use of natural elements, (2) providing a wide range of play types, (3) making spaces equally appealing to disabled and non-disabled children, (4) allowing children of different ages to play together and (5) building in opportunities to experience risk and challenge.
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| Playground in the City of The Hague (The Netherlands) |
Altogether the book is a nice summary of mindsets and solutions to make our cities more child-friendly and play-friendly. Interesting for students, researchers, policy-makers, decision-makers and designers that are involved with cities in general and more specific with urbanism and the public realm. Certainly for those who want an introduction to this subject, it is a handy overview with numerous insights, models, indicators, checklists, tips and tricks. And above all it is a substantiated plea for more inclusive cities and for healthy places where children can live, play and grow up.
Photos by (c) Gerben Helleman
Sources
Tim Gill (2021) Urban playground: how child-friendly planning and design can save cities. London: RIBA Publishing.
Gerben Helleman (2018) Playable Cities: a model and a toolkit. Blog Urban Springtime.
Gerben Helleman (2021) Designing child-friendly streets. Blog Urban Springtime.
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) (2020) Designing Streets for Kids. Washington D.C.: Island Press.
Colin Ward (1978) The Child in the City. Architectural Press.
I’m very grateful for this in-depth, balanced, thoughtful and constructive review. It brings to mind some of the questions that I grappled with in writing Urban Playground. For the case study cities and schemes, how do I tell accurate, engaging narratives with at least some of the backstory, while getting a balance between detail and breadth of coverage? How do I highlight the importance of evidence and data (where I share your view that interventions and programmes have historically been weak) while not ignoring values and understandings? In the ‘making it happen’ sections, how do I find a good mix of practicality, inspiration and coverage without being too prescriptive – and how do I build on (and do justice to) the work of others? This was a particular challenge around children’s participation, where much has been written and where some critical reappraisal is needed (which my book only begins to do). In answering all these questions, I tried to do two things: to keep the text lively and accessible, and to focus on those practitioners and decision-makers who are centrally involved in shaping the built form of cities, especially at the municipal level. I am pleased to have your endorsement of the book as both a sound overview of the field, and as a substantive contribution to the arguments for elevating the status of children in urban planning and design.
ReplyDeleteGood article..
ReplyDeletePlay Structure
ReplyDeleteConnecting a slide, stairway, or ladder to some platforms and uprights isn't the only way to put together a huge play structure. It's all about putting them together in a way that's fun to play. We develop play experiences at adventure+ where nothing is left to chance. Combination units can be customised to include a variety of activities tailored to the age group you want to target. It is critical to provide age-appropriate equipment, and when possible, a senior playground with more challenging activities should be constructed for older children. A multi-age playground is a terrific way to accommodate people of various ages.