Australia
A look into how other cities around the world are fostering play in their communities, and what we can learn from them. Select a continent below to learn more.
Philadelphia
Playstreets
Play spaces are co-located near public facilities and eateries to embed play naturally into everyday life.
The strategic placement of play spaces allows play to be a community connector, bringing three generations of play in one location. Elders can take a scroll around the park while children play on the playground and adults workout on the field or fitness equipment.
Playstreets are a safe place for children to play during the summer and provide free lunches and snacks. It was started in the 1950s, and now there are over 300 Playstreets in the city and is on almost every part of Philadelphia.
Children can play frisbee, bike, draw with chalk, etc. Playstreets provides children with lunch and snacks, and each street is supplied with a play equipment kit.
The very first official playstreet started in New York in 1914, with the goal of keeping children out of trouble, and since then, has spread to many other cities of the world including Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and Denmark.
Playstreets brings summer outdoor play to children of lower income neighborhoods. “The play street movement seeks to encourage outdoor play by creating safe and accessible public spaces for children right where they live. While kids in more affluent families go on vacation or attend summer camps and other enrichment programs, kids in communities with high unemployment and crime may lack those activities or even safe places to be during the day.” Philadelphia has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, and playstreets helps to provide safe spaces for people to play.
Starting a playstreet requires 75% neighboring resident approval. Playstreets is run by volunteer play supervisors that help to ensure safety of the children and to distribute food. Teens can become play captains and make an impact on the community. A new pilot program called Playstreets of Wonder seeks to bring playful learning to Playstreets, bringing guided games readings, and activities for the children.
Even without playstreets children would likely still hang around roads but it would be dangerous due to traffic, Playstreets provide a safe place to play.
Geographer Paul Tranter stated, “city streets were once seen as a public space for children, pedestrians and cyclists, but were gradually given over to cars.”
“Playstreets offer children greater freedom of movement and a chance for unstructured play in a community setting” (Simonton 2021). It brings summer camp atmosphere to almost every corner of Philadelphia. Playstreets brings the community together, and “helps keep neighbors accountable for each other’s children” (Bell 2017).