Special Issue of Mediapolis: A Journal of Cities and Culture edited by Carolyn Birdsall, Linda Kopitz and Alex Gekker
The city is a playground. But is it really? This dossier takes this recurring metaphor as a starting point to explore what “playability” means in the context of the urban environment. Closely connected to urban history and (re)conceptualizations of the public sphere, the presence of playgrounds across different cities highlights both how play is positioned in the city – but also how play is shaped in and through spatial design. As a delineated, and often gated, space, the playground comes with specific rules that typically highlight what types of play are desired and allowed. No bikes. No drinking. No adults. This dossier draws on the theme of “playable cities” to explore how play is increasingly leaving its designated spaces and extending into other parts of urban environments. While this can undoubtedly be linked to an absence of public investments and infrastructures centered around play, thinking about play beyond the playground offers new ways of living, moving and researching in the city. In this dossier, we propose that a wider definition of play as both a concept and practice – as a mode of urban engagement – opens up new conceptualizations of the city.