Playable cities for children?

Abstract

The concept of playable cities was introduced in the city of Bristol (UK) in 2012. While in smart cities the focus is on efficiency, whether it is on city governance, energy consumption, waste management, communication or transport, in playable cities the focus is on making cities more attractive for its inhabitants and visitors by introducing entertaining, playful and humorous interactive installations in the urban environment. In this paper we look at existing playable city projects, look at their characteristics and see whether their ‘playability’ can be experienced by others than those who are qualified as the ‘smart people’ that are usually seen as the ‘users’ of these playful installations. We mention some criticisms on these projects and also compare the playable cities initiatives with initiatives that aim at making cities more child-friendly.