On June 11th the first celebration took place International Day of Playthat fundamental moment in our lives that allows us to learn about the world and ourselves, to socialize and to have fun. While it is essential in childhood —and should always be part of life—, several studies show that less and worse play is being played. This places us in front of an opportunity: to evaluate and improve our cities from their gameplay. Doing so will allow us to touch on other key dimensions such as inclusiveness, resilience or health, activating transformative levers such as renaturalisation, mobility or local trade. There is only one way to achieve this: involve the best players, the children.
Some people like to refer to children as “our future.” Technically, that’s true: they will most likely outlive us adults. But children are also our present: they are a little more than a third of the world’s population. Decisions made today will affect the children of today and tomorrow more than they will affect us adults. It is estimated that In 2050, almost 70% of children of the world will live in urban areas, many of them in slums. For a moment, let’s think about our neighborhoods and cities in terms of gameplay and mobility, from the point of view of children and their health: are there healthy spaces near where they live? Can they go out and cross the street alone without the risk of being hit by a car? How much pollution do they breathe? Are there enough places where they can play safely, freely and freely, without having to be locked up in houses or surrounded by fences? Let us also consider the climate and biodiversity: are hard public spaces (including schools), completely paved, and will they be friendly, even habitable, for children in the coming climate? Do they have contact with nature in cities?
The latest research into play in the UK, led by Professor Helen Dodd, shows that primary school-aged children are losing the freedom to play independently and are not allowed to play alone outdoors until they are 11 – two years older than their parents’ generation. The British Children’s Play Survey, the largest study of its kind, uncovered another important detail: in the sample of 1,919 parents or carers with a child aged between 5 and 11, children played for an average of three hours a day, with around half of that time spent outdoors.
Nature is our best ally against climate change, especially for vulnerable populations such as children.
Outdoors and surrounded by biodiversity. That is where they have to play, where the diverse natural stimuli allow for better cognitive development and good health (including mental health) for children and adults. Nature is our best ally against climate change, especially for vulnerable populations such as children. Climate shelters without so much asphalt and concrete, and with lots of vegetation, soil and natural shade, protect them and us from high temperatures, while generating that magical environment for play: the jungle, the forest, the orchard.
In the nineties, a movement of child-friendly cities emerged, whose action culminated in the Child-Friendly Cities Initiativesponsored by UNICEF. These prospects have increased over the past decade, as illustrated in his latest book Tim Gillan English researcher and global advocate for children’s outdoor play and mobility for decades. For example, Bernard van Leer, a Netherlands-based NGO focused on early childhood development, launched its Urban95 initiative in 2016, focusing on children’s perspectives in urban planning. Cities around the world, from Vancouver to Barcelona, Tirana to Boa Vista (Brazil), have adopted child-friendly elements, and some, like Rotterdam, have changed profoundly as a result of the shift in perspective.
In ShenzhenIn southern China, children under 18 were asked to participate in the redesign of a local park, without allowing parents to offer guidance or opinions, using different techniques for children of different ages. For example, children under six were made to participate by telling them stories and asking them questions. In Latin America, the OCARA Networkwhich promotes experiences and projects on cities, art, architecture and public space in which children participate, launched an “obstacle detection kit” to involve children in the redesign of streets, with workshops on intervention in public spaces (for example, patching streets with potholes).
In the US city of Boulder, Colorado, an initiative launched in 2009 got children directly involved in the redevelopment of the city, alongside city planners. Children as young as four were involved in the redesign of the Civic Area in the city centre. The organisers used field trips, model building and questionnaires with the older children, and with the younger ones they simply observed their preferences. In general, the children liked more direct contact with nature: they imagined a library in the treetops to read, surrounded by flowers and birds; they imagined a transparent bridge, where they could stand and look out over the stream. They wanted more access to exciting adventures, such as huge climbing walls from which to jump or land on trampolines. And they wanted no litter, no speeding bikes, no cars.
It seems quite eloquent that they are crying out for renaturalisation, active mobility, circular economy, socialisation, art and play spaces. In this way, our health will benefit and we will all benefit – including local businesses.
Some ideas the kids come up with are too crazy, of course: a park made of candy, with bridges filled with cannons that shoot jets of water at kayakers. The problem is that adults can be just as irrational when asked about urban planning, says Mara Mintzer, director and co-founder of the Boulder initiative, and not all suggestions necessarily make it into the final project. “We can’t and shouldn’t expect kids to give us all the answers — that’s our job. It’s not easy to get it right — too often the result is symbolic or decorative,” Gill said.
We shouldn’t pat ourselves on the back when we include children in decision-making as if it were a great achievement. We should simply include them, just like everyone else. Because only truly inclusive governance holds the key to the future, and the diversity of creativity that will lead us to its doorstep. Because only through play will there be revolution.
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#Redesigning #cities #playability
