Children’s Use of Public Space (original) (raw)
Related papers
Playing Heterotopia. Are playgrounds a child's matter?
This paper focuses on playfulness as expressed in the urban public space. Children’s play is often considered either as sacred or superfluous for the adults to engage with while the city doesn’t seem able to support playful behaviour across ages. I approach playfulness by examining the role of space and more specifically that of the playground in both adults’ and children’s everyday life. The playground space is framed as a socio-spatial entity bearing heterotopic characteristics expressed and realized through play; a domain continually transformed as children and adults inhabit it. This paper approaches playground as a blurred space adjacent to, rather than on the margins of, adult-centred public realm, the main question being: How do playgrounds inform playfulness in the public realm? To what extent does a playground -purposely child-centred- communicate with the surrounding public space and what is the role of play -perceived as a vehicle towards intergenerational relations- in this interaction? n order to ultimately examine the expressions of playfulness in the public realm I will explore how the adopted methodology reflects the study’s theoretical framework, while reflecting on how researcher’s own playfulness allows her to immerge into heterotopia and study playful behaviour. By drawing connecting lines between the concept of heterotopia - understood through play’s alternate orderings - and ethnography, I will examine the ways ethnographic fieldwork (in progress in two playgrounds in the city of Athens during a period of socio-economic crisis) engages with the complexity of playfulness in urban space.
The public playground paradox: ‘child’s joy’ or heterotopia of fear?
Children's Geographies
Literature depicts children of the Global North withdrawing from public space to 'acceptable islands'. Driven by fears both of and for children, the public playgroundone such islandprovides clear-cut distinctions between childhood and adulthood. Extending this argument, this paper takes the original approach of theoretically framing the playground as a heterotopia of deviance, examiningfor the first timethree Greek public playground sites in relation to adjacent public space. Drawing on an ethnographic study in Athens, findings show fear to underpin surveillance, control and playground boundary porosity. Normative classification as 'children's space' discourages adult engagement. However, in a novel and significant finding, a paradoxical phenomenon sees the playground's presence simultaneously legitimizing playful behaviour in adjacent public space for children and adults. Extended playground play creates alternate orderings and negotiates norms and hierarchies, suggesting significant wider potential to reconceptualise playground-urban design for an intergenerational public realm.
Fences of childhood: Challenging the meaning of playground boundaries in design
Frontiers of Architectural Research
Scholars have criticized the capacity of playgrounds to support children's participation in public life. Fences of childhood, such as walls, fences, and enclosures, dominate children's "public" spatial experiences in the global north. Challenging well-established critiques of the fenced playground as a space that segregates and controls childhood experiences, this study offers a novel and nuanced perspective, emphasizing the qualities of the playground fence that support play and playful connections, on, through, and around it. Employing an ethnographic methodology, this study includes 167h of observations in three typical urban public playgrounds in Greece and 65 semi-structured interviews with 124 participants. Drawing on recursive thematic qualitative analysis, the fence emerges as a blurred boundary, that is, an element that transgresses assumptions and questions spatial classifications and hierarchies. Rarely the subject of design discourse, these findings are particularly significant in design disciplines globally and offer new understandings on the possibilities afforded by the playground fence. Emergent themes, namely, indeterminacy, climbabilty, playability, and porosity, are proposed as principles to guide fenced playground design as part of a fundamental reconceptualization. This reconceptualization positions the fenced playground as a public space infrastructure, supporting intergenerational interaction and play as well as children's presence and play in the public realm.
Play and Playgrounds in Children's Geographies
Establishing Geographies of Children and Young People, Geographies of Children and Young People, 2019
Research on play and playgrounds covers a huge swath of literature in children’s geographies. Studies on play can be both abstract and material and range from the well-debated differentiation between work and play to the essential nature of children and childhood. Playgrounds on the other hand are concrete, historically public, spaces. Some of the earliest research in the geography of children explored the role of the playground in children’s lives, and their playful activities in the city and country. This chapter will explore theoretical and empirical research on play and playgrounds in children’s geographies. As a review of the field, this chapter will highlight the foundational and current literature on play and playgrounds, including the origins of the Playground Movement, and will integrate the literature that the student of play and playgrounds in children’s geographies should know.
Development models for playgrounds in the contemporary urban fabric
2016
The primary focus of this project is the playground as a generator of spaces for recreation, integration, identity expression of people in a group, active creativity and play. This project analyses children’s playgrounds from the following perspective: the playground in different urban development models, the presentation of possible development lines for playscapes, and the relationship that can be established between children’s recreation areas, art and gardens. These spaces are conceived as places for future intergenerational communication, creativity and the creation of identity within the contemporary urban fabric. Their purpose is also to instil children with educational values such as care and respect for the natural environment. Advocates of recreation spaces traditionally visualised playgrounds not only as places of refuge from the risks and perils of urban life, but also as areas that fostered social integration. Play has an educational value that is universally recognised.
On Lines, Place Making, and Children’s Play: An Exploration of Street Life in the Netherlands
In this essay the author explores the diverse ways in which children are creating places for play in the streets of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. More specifically, the focus of the essay is on the lines that children actively draw in place-making for play and on the meaning of lines that have been drawn for them as part of the design of playgrounds in streets. The written and visual observations about children, places and lines are the result of ethnographic inquiry.
IV. International Architectural Sciences and Applications Symposium, 2024
Play is commonly recognized as a creative and productive activity that fosters a child's innovative potential. However, its significance extends beyond childhood; it serves as a critical commentary on the consumption and rationality prevalent in contemporary urban life. Playful activities often manifest as spontaneous and voluntary actions, serving as a means for individuals to assert ownership over space. This ownership isn't defined by specific, written, and negotiated regulatory systems but rather by the ability of city residents to access and transform spaces through their lived experiences in the city. It represents a fusion of playful actions, creating spaces for both use and production that transcend the privatization of urban areas. This research explores the interaction between play theory and urban design in shaping inclusive public spaces and addressing issues related to space privatization. With a focus on community involvement, particularly through participatory design approaches, it aims to align spaces with diverse needs, as exemplified by public spaces in the Frankenberger Neighborhood in Aachen. Through observations and surveys, the study aims to illustrate how playful design fosters unique connections between people and places, thereby revitalizing public areas. The research advocates for the integration of play into design processes to inspire communal contribution, promote playfulness, encourage social engagement, and cultivate a deeper sense of ownership over space.
Children's perspectives on public playgrounds in two Swedish communities
This paper describes children’s perspectives on local public playgrounds and discusses the effect of the surrounding landscape on playground use by comparing two Swedish communities: one in the forest and one on open, arable land. The researcher interviewed 141 children aged 6-11 from the two communities. They appreciated playgrounds for being fun and for offering many activities, but also described them as problematic, inadequate, or boring. The children often mentioned social dimensions of playground play, and viewed playgrounds as insufficient as the only places for children’s outdoor play. In the forest community, the children appreciated having forested areas close to playgrounds. Access to natural places for play seemed to make playground design less important and less problematic for children.