2023 Theses Master's

Playing With/In The City: An Observational Approach to Ludic Public Space Interventions in New York City

Hanson, Margaret

Literature surrounding playful cities has largely been limited to the idea of cultivating ‘child-friendly’ cities – those with plentiful playgrounds and public spaces geared towards children’s socioemotional health and cognitive development. The benefits of creating these spaces have been proven, time and time again, with clinical evidence demonstrating that as children spend more time outside in playful environments, they are relieved of negative emotions.

Less literature has been dedicated, however, to the relationship adults may have with urban play. This research seeks to address how playful placemaking practices can create more just and participatory public spaces for adults. To this end, public spaces across New York City are used as cases, each centered on differing playful practices that have both been pre-determined by either city government, private firms, or organizations, as well as spontaneous, citizen-led play.

This thesis seeks to understand both how municipal governments, not-for-profits, and neighborhood associations seek to program play into urban spaces, as well as how citizens take agency to define their own playful interactions with the city, often manipulating interstitial spaces to satisfy their specific needs.