Play and the vitality of cities

This is a guest post by Duncan McDuie-Ra, author of Insurgent Play: Social Worlds of Urban Disruption

Play is intrinsic to human existence and to some non-human animals too. We can think of play in different ways; as creative and destructive, as individual and collective, as production and consumption, as organised and spontaneous, as conformist and rebellious. Play is a preoccupation of scholars in many disciplines and is part of corporate culture as a cultivatable stimulant for innovation, and an anathema for stress, low productivity and a lack of creativity. In cities, play outside, as opposed to virtual play or play indoors, happens in designated spaces, such as playgrounds, parks, fields and nature reserves. However, the where and when of play, space and time, are crucial questions for thinking about cities, past, contemporary and future. These questions are particularly poignant in rapidly growing cities where space is characterised by enclosure for leisure and consumption (malls, clubs), housing and mobility (gated communities, car parks, flyovers and tunnels) and where open public space is often policed and surveilled.

In our present age, play is loosely connected to ideas about viable urban life. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 aspires to make cities ‘inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’, focusing on public spaces. Goal 11.7 reads: ‘by 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, particularly for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities’ (UN DESA, n.d.). Not all public space is space to play, but the general norm is that as sustainable, healthy settlements, cities need spaces that are open to participation, open to improvisation and open to all.

If we take only these basic conditions, namely, planned spaces designated for play or where play is allowed, and try to identify them in and across cities globally, these basic conditions are rare. They may not be rare in certain countries or regions, northern Europe and Singapore, for example, or in certain planned or ‘hyper-planned’ neighbourhoods, districts or enclaves. However, for most urban dwellers, these conditions are not common, guaranteed nor likely.

The United Nations SDG data on ‘open public space’ are useful to illustrate the point. Open public space is not the same as play space, yet the two concepts are entangled. Of 1,072 cities in 120 countries reporting on SDG 11.7 in 2020, more than three-quarters, somewhere between 800 and 850 cities, have less than 20% of their area dedicated to open public spaces (UN DESA, 2023). This is half the proportion recommended under SDG 11. Even more telling, on average across all 1,072 reporting cities, open public space accounts for 3.2% of total urban land area (UN DESA, 2023). Granted, this doesn’t tell us about designated play space with precision, but if we assume that open public space either encompasses designated play space, or has substantial overlaps, then planned, designated play spaces are rare for most urban dwellers globally.

So, what do people do? If play is intrinsic to human existence, well-being and dignity, and if play enlivens cities, sparking creativity, innovation and civic engagement, where and when do most people do it?

The answer is in activities witnessed in carparks, alleyways, abandoned lots, ruined buildings and under flyovers in cities across the world; most people play where and when they are not supposed to in space they appropriate and claim.

The concept of ‘insurgent play’ helps us to identify these claims. Insurgence is shorthand for ways of acting counter to the existing order. As such insurgent play makes play space by disrupting the existing urban order, and even past orders where rules, laws and boundaries have fallen away through abandonment or disuse. Yet insurgent play does not just draw our attention to disruption, but to ways play brings the city to life in places and at times unexpected, by introducing alternative variations and patterns.

People will play, whether they have designated spaces or not. Even in cities with abundant designated play space or open public space, insurgent play is still common, still desired, still relished. Bodies will rebel, no matter how progressive the planning regime, how creative the public space, how welcoming the urban design. Insurgent play brings the city to life in times and places unexpected, the key is to pay attention, join in and celebrate, not regulate, this vitality.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN DESA., n.d. ‘Sustainable Development Goals 11.7’. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11#targets_and_indicators. Accessed Jul 6, 2024.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN DESA., 2023. ‘Progress and Info’. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11#progress_and_info. Accessed April 12, 2024.