Tag Archives: streets

Could street play hold the key to creating more sustainable, livable cities?

Posted on August 2, 2017 | 5 comments

This week marked a milestone in the UK street play movement, with the publication of three new reports.

The first is an evaluation report by Bristol University [pdf link], published by Play England, which looked mainly at the health outcomes for children. The second is a report [pdf link] from Playing Out, the Bristol-based national hub for street play, of a survey of people directly involved in street play sessions. The third, written by me [pdf link] and also published by Play England, explores the issues around taking street play initiatives forward in disadvantaged areas.

This blog post from Playing Out gives a helpful overview of the three reports (as well as a flavour of the high level of press interest).

Boy lying on skateboard in street with child cyclist behind

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Posted in Child-friendliness, Health, Public policy, Urban planning

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Designing Streets for Play – Research and Observation – Playing Out

Posted on June 29, 2017 | 4 comments

cover of Helen Forman literature review on residential street design published by Playing OutThis is a quick share of a very useful report pulling together key research and other material on designing streets for play. The report was written for the campaigning group Playing Out by Helen Forman, an architect in the housing field and volunteer activator for the group.

I have long argued that making residential streets more child-friendly is crucial to expanding their everyday freedoms. This literature review is an essential resource for anyone who shares this view. Just click here to download a copy.

Helen’s blog post on the report is below.

There’s a house on a corner near where I live in suburban Leeds that makes me happy nearly every time I pass it. Not because it’s anything special architecturally, but because there are almost always children playing in the street outside. Further into town there’s a Victorian terrace, where cycling past once I smiled as I …

Source: Designing Streets for Play – Research and Observation – Playing Out

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Posted in Outdoor play, Urban planning, Urbanism

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First ever area-wide evaluation of street play proves its potential

Posted on March 2, 2015 | 14 comments

Street play initiatives can make a real difference to the lives of thousands of children and families across an urban area. This was the key message of the first ever area-wide study of a street play programme, which I carried out for Hackney Council. My evaluation – launched by the London Borough last Friday – also revealed that schemes have caused minimal levels of traffic disruption, and have faced very little local opposition.

Hackney play streets report cover Continue reading →

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Posted in Outdoor play, Public space, Urbanism

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Why would you want to let your child play out in the street?

Posted on September 23, 2013 | 22 comments

Boy in streetEven a generation ago, most parents would have greeted this question with blank faces. Playing out was just what kids did – why would you need a reason? Of course, things are different today – for all sorts of reasons. In almost all neighbourhoods, parents need to take a stand, and to resist the norm of parenting that says being a good parent means rearing your child in captivity.

For parents who come together to set up Playing Out road closure projects, taking this stand means extra commitments: talking to neighbours, liaising with the Council, setting up rotas, and maybe spending a couple of hours a week out in the street. So, to rework my opening question: why do parents get involved in organising road closures for play?

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Posted in Outdoor play, Parenting

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When street play went primetime

Posted on July 3, 2013 | 7 comments

Here is the item on street play that was broadcast on The One Show last Monday (24 June 2013). It focuses on the road closure session in Worthing that I described in my post from a couple of weeks ago (and yes, I do pop up a couple of times, flying the flag for outdoor play).

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Posted in Outdoor play, Urbanism

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Street play: can you have too much of it?

Posted on June 18, 2013 | 21 comments

Road closed signI have written before about street play, and plugged the Playing Out project, whose community-based approach to opening up streets for play is spreading fast. A couple of weekends ago I witnessed a whole Playing Out session from beginning to end (and you will have the chance to see the edited highlights on primetime TV [Update Weds 3 July 2013: watch a clip from this blog post of mine]). It was a thrilling event, welcomed and enjoyed by people of all ages. But while I shared their enthusiasm, I was left wondering if the sheer energy of the occasion could paradoxically weaken the initiative’s prospects. I’ll come back to that thought later – but first, let’s set the scene.

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Posted in Outdoor play, Urbanism

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