Play-cycle: The migration of play and play spaces

Play, as a practise which has a huge impact on individual human growth and social relationships, has been researched in contexts of multiple disciplinary fields. Theories of play have been developed in different realms and instructed the design of diverse play spaces. Specific architectural typologies as well as general principles of urban planning have been taking inspirations from the migrated idea of ‘play’. However, few studies or practices have explored how ‘play’ can be applied on a neighbourhood level as a solution to the poor development of both its residents and the community itself. This paper takes Feijenpoort area as a research subject to address the missing intermediate dimensions in the migration of ‘play’. Through historical research this paper argues a correlation of the emergence of new behavioural and spatial play to the social condition. A new design program of ‘play-cycle’ is proposed after comparative studies of existing play space typologies to revitalise the neighbourhoods through positive participation of its young population.Architecture, Urbanism and Building Science