"The power of play." 🛝⚽️ New research emphasises the importance of designing outdoor play spaces in cities to create community ties and nurture child development. – from IOE, @uclengineering.bsky.social & @bihr.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/sep/...

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces Revisiting the newly restored classic film by William H. Whyte www.sociallifeproject.org/the-social-l... @anthologyfilm.bsky.social @placemakingx.bsky.social @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social #Placemaking #PublicSpace #Urbanism #WilliamHWhyte

Enjoying #publicspace with friends. #Waterfront #TheHague #streetphotography #urbanphotography #humansofbluesky #urbanism #landscape #design

"A mural of the Statue of Liberty in shame" by JDL Street Ar in Lille , Roubaix France 🇫🇷

Is it possible that…urbanism is a winning strategy in cities?

"The kids get to play out and they haven't got cars interfering with them, and everybody gets to have a good time … People also get to meet each other, neighbours you've probably not spoke to and it's good for the community." PLAY STREETS: GOOD FOR KIDS, GOOD FOR COMMUNITIES 👊

My #picoftheday

It was awesome collaborating with @tomflood.bsky.social on this project. So cool to see this up!

And suddenly the market square in #Delft (The Netherlands) becomes an open-air cinema... #placemaking #publicspace #urbanphotography #streetphotography #cinema

This is the 'Gelbe Affe' (Yellow Monkey) in #Düsseldorf, #Germany. This #mural was created in 2012 by the Majo Brothers, an artistic duo consisting of Marc and Joe Hennig. #streetphotography #urbanphotography #urbanart #streetart #graffiti #Deutschland

With a little imagination you can sit anywhere and enjoy your drink and each other. 📍 #Innsbruck, Austria #streetphotography #urbanphotography #humansofbluesky #publicspace #urbanism #placemaking #Österreich

#Paris, the City of Love❤️, City of Lights💡, Capital of Fashion👗, City of Art🎨, but in my opinion also the City of #Publicspace🌳. What a wonderful city to sit, relax, stroll, and play guitar... (🧵1/3) #streetphotography #humansofbluesky @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social @sociallifeproject.bsky.social

"Children play anywhere and everywhere" is a famous quote from Colin Ward (1978). An observation that still applies. #childfriendly #play #children #library #slide #humansofbluesky

Inaugurated at the world’s first “Swimmable Cities” summit in May, Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven—once an industrial port on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas River—is now a designated (free) public swimming area complete with a floating pontoon park; the only legal place to swim outdoors in the city centre.

Risky play is defined as thrilling and exciting activities. It's a type of play where #children test their limits, explore boundaries, and develop valuable skills like risk assessment, problem-solving, and resilience. #publicspace #outdoorplay #riskyplay

"Most of the children in our survey said that they aren’t allowed to be out in public at all without an adult. Fewer than half of the 8- and 9-year-olds have gone down a grocery-store aisle alone; more than a quarter aren’t allowed to play unsupervised even in their own front yard."

When there's not enough seating in #publicspace, people look for other places. Preferably somewhere with a backrest (and thus protection from behind), with a view and in the shade (on sunny days). 🧵 (1/3) #streetphotography #urbanphotography #humansofbluesky #urbanism @sociallifeproject.bsky.social

"Part of the school’s philosophy is about risk-taking as a fundamental part of creating confidence." Principal Richard Messina | In @novakovicto.bsky.social 's article on the outdoor play space at Toronto's Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study www.designlinesmagazine.com/sara-jackman...

Science Playground (🧵 1/2):"It has been designed to inspire the imagination and to challenge children physically" 📍Pier 26, #NYC #publicspace #placemaking #playfriendly #play #streetphotography #urbanphotography #humansofbluesky Photos from the inside in 2nd post.

How do we make cities more #playfriendly? It's a question I've been working on for quite some time. Here's a nice and simple example from #Memmingen in Germany. A marble maze. What examples do you know? #publicspace #placemaking #streetphotography #humansofbluesky

Good public seating should be comfortable, accessible, encourage social interaction, have good sight lines and an interesting view. 📍Pier 26, #NY #streetphotography #urbanphotography #publicspace #placemaking #NewYork #humansofbluesky

Street life, cities for people 📍Memmingen, #Deutschland #publicspace #streetphotography #urbanphotography #humansofbluesky

Diversity in color, material, facades and seating options creates a vibrant #publicspace. 📍Doyers street, #Chinatown, #NewYork #placemaking #streetphotography #urbanism #urbanphotography #NY

The Social Life of Cycling: How Bikes Can Propel Human Connection Bike culture enriches social life and creates a bridge between sidewalk activity and the street www.sociallifeproject.org/the-social-l... by @sociallifeproject.bsky.social @drtpanova.bsky.social

If we want livable streets we need to provide a soft transition between the buildings (private) and the street (public) through, among others, active ground floors. See these great examples from #NY and #Paris. #placemaking #publicspace @sociallifeproject.bsky.social @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social

"Madrid’s conservative local government is increasingly promoting a privatised model of public space [...] leaving little space for people to gather without being obliged to consume something." The BEST thing about Spain is being able to exist in public without consuming anything. Fuck Ayuso. 🖕

Hackney SPD for child-friendly spaces “Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people.” 8 designs principles Incl activity/play on doorstep, not just playgrounds hackney.gov.uk/child-friend...

In the U.S., some parents habitually tamp down on wild, free play—which could be holding children back. But “providing kids with more freedom doesn’t require a lot of money,” Henry Abbott writes. “Mostly, it just requires a little creativity.”

Urbanism is going to dominate in the coming century because it simply produces more beautiful cities than car dependent ones

Water in #publicspace: cooling, fun, #play, and a pleasure to watch. #placemaking #urbanism 📍 #Hardenberg #climateadaptation #heatstress #streetphotography #playfriendlycities #urbanplay

Frank Ape (the book reader), a mural from artist #BrandonSines. Frank Ape can be found at many places in #NYC. “To me, what Frank is about is positivity and equality,” says Sines. #streetart #streetphotography #NewYork #urbanphotography #publicspace

What goes up must come down...a parking elevator in a highly urban and dense area of #NewYork. #car-centric #publicspace #urbanphotography #parking #urbanism #streetphotography

Urban play at Columbus Park in #NewYork. #publicspace #play #placemaking #playablecities #playfriendlycities #streetphotography #urbanphotography

Sometimes you have to be creative to make the city more liveable. Amsterdam lowered the standard speed in the city to 30 km/h and asked graphic designer Karel Martens to design new road markings.

Wonderful #streetart at the 📍Boulevard Vincent Auriol, #Paris. #popart #publicspace #streetphotography #urbanphotography #urbanism

Tactical urbanism at its finest ❤️

Repairing Streets (10 Photos) In cities like Ankara, Lyon, and Belgrade, Ememem continues to repair cracks, potholes, and broken infrastructure—not with concrete, but with intricate mosaics. This new collection includes a fractured stairway reborn in Zagreb and a patterned burst around a manhole…

Children have as much right to their streets as drivers. There is no legal basis for them being shoed off streets. And I have no doubt that cars - moving and parked - cause a nuisance for children. This is extraordinarily depressing from Manchester City Council. @playingout.bsky.social

A #playground with a view. 📍Boulevard Vincent Auriol, #Paris #streetart #popart #streetphotography #outdoorplay

The Scottish Government want to know about your local play park! Responses will be used to evaluate and inform policy, so it's really important! 📝 Please take 7 minutes to fill in the survey: forms.office.com/e/WkPx8TnJwW

Very cool suggestion by @feljin.ie in today's DCC Central Area Committee meeting: Play Streets for World Car Free Day in Dublin! Would love to see local communities and streets across Dublin take on this idea and see a panoply of play streets in September...

It's raining cats and dogs after a few very hot days. Perfect weather to #play outside! #outdoorplay #publicspace #streetphotography #children

Outdoor play 💯

My little brother today was playing outside and he was digging mud with a spoon and and then he threw the spoon at a tree and said “it’s just like Minecraft in real life”

Sports and exercise can be done anywhere! See here a beach #volleyball tournament on the historic market square in #Gouda (the #Netherlands). Dump a load of sand, put up a few nets and the game is on 🏐 #publicspace #placemaking #sport #streetphotography #playablecities #playfriendly

Great to see the conversation in the US around how gender-blind design leaves girls out of parks. Also great to see Brickfield Park in Bath mentioned – co-created with teenage girls, alongside inspiring examples from Vienna. Awareness is growing! nextcity.org/urbanist-new...

The formula for an attractive and liveable #publicspace 🟰 Seating (grass, benches) ✖️ View (water/rowing boats) ✖️ Company (friends/food). And nice weather also helps, of course 😉. What do you notice in the video? #Delft #Netherlands #placemaking #urbanism #streetphotography

Today our year-long Raising the Nation Play Commission into why play is critical to the wellbeing and development of children publishes its Final Report, #EverythingToPlayFor. It’s time to reclaim childhood with a National Play Strategy for England. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...

"Too often when we think about play in a planning context, we default to thinking about structured activity and providing spaces that are designated and equipped. - Gemma Hyde, Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) 1 of 2

Last week #Banksy taught us that you can see anything in an object if you use your imagination. In #Paris they already knew this. They transformed a bollard into a table by a café 🥂. Smart! #tacticalurbanism #publicspace #streetart #streetphotography #placemaking @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social