LeFaivre: Ground-Up City

In Ground-Up City, LeFaivre depicts the shift in playground and play space construction with the rise of "ground-up" ideology, where design is driven from and in consultation with the community. LeFaivre notes key shifts beginning in the 1920s where thinkers like Freud began to position play and playfulness as essential to education and cognitive development. Post-war Amsterdam in particular saw significant change in the design and number of playgrounds with the idea of "child empowerment" and children's rights. Architects and artists began to focus their attention to the design of play spaces, which were just one part of this movement. With this increased attention, designs were challenged and the idea of a playground as a medium for imaginative play rather than having pre-defined functionalities (like swinging) came to be. In 1964, Jane Jacobs challenged the idealism of playground design by bringing attention to the fact that parks and playgrounds were actually primary locations of gang violence. From the realism of her work came another shift to looking at the streets as a context for play and creating community rather than having government associations develop isolated, predefined areas where 'play' was to occur. With this emphasis, participatory design began to occur in urban neighborhoods and people began to have input in the development of play and public spaces. These developments in Amsterdam revolutionized playground design with three primary characteristics. They are participatory (designed in conjunction with people, including the needs of children), intersitial (integrated with the city, not just in one isolated place), and polycentric (part of a network of playgrounds throughout the city). The interstitial aspect is particularly important because it coincides with the design and development of public spaces in cities aimed to increase community in addition to creating opportunities for play.