The Playground Project

From 1950 to the 1980s, the playground served as a social laboratory. In the cities of industrialized nations, as well as in other parts of the world, innovative, crazy, educational, and exciting playground design projects emerged: artists, landscape architects, designers, and activists aimed to provide children with the best possible play environment while rethinking the city and community. This richly illustrated book, first published in 2016 and quickly becoming a classic in playground research, brings back the creativity of that time to inspire us today. It is a significantly expanded new edition featuring many previously unpublished images, numerous new portraits of key figures from that era, and current research. A concise introductory text situates the playground at the intersections of education, architecture, urban politics, design history, and leisure policy. A detailed focus is placed on the forgotten history of playgrounds in the former GDR. Young researchers explore the culture of memory surrounding the Shek Lei Playground in Hong Kong and the nation-building significance of playgrounds in Mexico. A tribute to playing in public spaces and an inspiration for architects, designers, students, children, and political actors.