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Nurturing the City Through Child’s Play: An investigation into why children’s play in streets should be a forethought in urban design

Part 2 Dissertation 2015
Madeleine Mooney
 Manchester School of Architecture Manchester | UK
Patterns of childhood have changed dramatically since the Second World War and there is serious concern for the physical and mental well-being of children. Residential streets, once the traditional childhood place for play, no longer resonate to the activities of children. Adult fears of accidents, acts of crime, the lure of computer games, and increasing working hours for carers, has seen the presence of children on the street fading. This dissertation speculates that the loss of the street for play not only impacts the child, but has negative consequences for the creation of sustainable communities. Using research from a range of academic fields, a distinction is drawn between adult designed and designated play areas and those special places so meaningful to children. The study exposes the physical and spatial elements of the environment which afford the best opportunity for play and evaluates current urban policies in relation to children’s needs for play.

Tutor(s)
Helen Aston
2015
A small derelict site developed for play by Aldo van Eyck close to residential dwellings. His playgrounds filled interstitial spaces, forming a net-like pattern throughout the city of Amsterdam.
The social ecology of childhood based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecology of Human Development.
A typical KFC playground (kit, fence, carpet).
Van Eyck’s designs for play equipment, including a climbing arch, stepping stones and a climbing funnel.
MONSTRUM designs for playspaces, including a tilted surface of fallen globe, a climbing net and a high-level entry.
Children finding opportunities for play in the microfeatures of the environment: playing in a water gulley, a hand stand on a wall, and strumming railings with a stick.
A child is free to use the whole street for play in the 1940s. Today, cars rule the street.
Children playing in the streets in Manchester in the 1960s.
A variety of surface materials and traffic calming street furniture alter the vehicular path, while children play in a “green street” between homes.
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