Ludic Cities: Using Play as a Motivator for Pedestrian Activity ( elevator pitch )

Abstract

Background Walkable city streets offer more than connecting pedestrians from point A to point B. Effective pedestrian spaces provide social and psychological benefits, connecting walkers to their built, natural and community environments. Urban designers suggest that metrics such as street lighting, perceived safety, and connectivity to destinations encourage pedestrian activity. However, calls to increase walkability through the design of good public space often fail to also consider the universal intrinsic motivator: play. Aim This research explores play as a motivator for pedestrian activity. Literature on walkability and playfulness (with a focus on winter cities) was compared with examples of playful streetscape interventions with the aim to expand notions of pedestrian motivating design. This comparison was conducted to produce a typology of playful design considerations for urban planners, landscape architects, designers, and walkability advocates alike. This presentation will discuss play as a component of the new walking city, highlighting examples of playful pedestrian designs from across the world and presenting literature findings to support their approach. Method A review of literature on designing to encourage pedestrian behaviour, winter city design, and playful motivation was used to distill best practices in each topic. Twenty-one cases of playful pedestrian street interventions were collected and coded according to elements described by the literature, as well as design features that did not emerge from the review. A typology was created to summarize this comparison. Results The emerging concept of playful motivators of pedestrian activity can be described as a design or urban form that inspires happiness and playful interaction with the urban environment. The resulting typology highlights key processes for incorporating play to increase walkability, describing variations of types of play, designs, and implementation styles suggested by academic literature and the examined cases. Conclusions Findings support play as an important component in the design of vibrant, walkable cities. Playful urban tactics help to increase social contact and provide an opportunity for environmental mastery. As play is innate to humans, so should it be a component of city design.