Commonplay

Can differentiated management — and making use of underutilised urban green commons — create better conditions for children’s play and exploration? Commonplay, one of five projects funded through ArkDes’ 2021 Open Call under the theme “Shared Spaces and Interspaces”, was based on the importance of play for children’s wellbeing and development.

The project took its starting point from the fact that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child became law in Sweden in 2020, and from research highlighting the critical role of play in child development. Evolutionarily, play has been crucial for humans to learn cooperation, risk assessment, and consequence management. Since the late 19th century, however, children’s play has been increasingly relegated from being a natural part of urban life to an activity confined to designated areas. This approach to play environments limits children’s and young people’s ability to claim space and to influence their surroundings.

The project team included landscape architects from Galaxen, Topia’s ↗ experimental urban studio, Upplands-Bro Municipality ↗, and researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU ↗). Together, they explored how small-scale interventions could strengthen the presence of play in the city. Urban green commons — often overlooked spaces — were identified as an important resource. Research shows that green areas are among the most inspiring and beneficial environments for children’s physical, social, and mental development.

The aim was to enhance the play and recreational value of two green areas in Upplands-Bro Municipality, while also developing a methodology based on differentiated management, with children and young people participating in the planning process. The project was carried out in close collaboration with SLU researchers, municipal managers, preschool educators, and children of various ages. The active participation of the children provided insights into how they themselves explore and use different places.

The work was organised into three stages: identifying and assessing existing conditions; visualising and engaging through sketches and inspirational examples; and developing ideas and acting in practice. Workshops, walk-alongs, and play observations were conducted. The final design of the sites was based on strategies such as framing spaces, creating sightlines, introducing play markers, and altering the topography to invite creative, social, and physical play in different ways.

A key success factor was involving key figures from the municipal management organisation to share knowledge and ensure long-term commitment. The project highlights the need to formalise informal play environments as a distinct management category, preferably already at the procurement stage. The work also resulted in an accessible report — systematically describing the steps from analysis and engagement to implementation — that can serve as a handbook for future initiatives.