Playground - a safe place for children to play in the hustle and bustle of the city. A big city whose rhythm and rules are not adapted to its child inhabitants. What is the playground in the urban fabric today?

Drawing by Ry (6 years old)

The emergence of playgrounds dates back to the turn of the 19th and 20th century. The need to create a safe and defined space for children's play followed motorisation and the Industrial Revolution, when expanding cities filled with motor vehicles became less safe for children. The emergence of playgrounds was also helped by a changing view of children's upbringing. During the 19th century, the child ceased to be merely a being who had to be prepared for adulthood and became an individual with specific needs, abilities and perceptions. The forerunners of today's playgrounds were "sand gardens", first introduced in Berlin in 1850 by Friedrich Frobel. Sand gardens were enclosed sandy areas installed in parks, courtyards or gardens, which also spread to USA, initially funded by non-governmental charitable bodies, primarily for children in slums. The first playground paid for by the government was built in Boston in 1903. At that time, playgrounds were places for directed activities. The playground also had great social significance, serving as a gathering place for children and parents at a time when free play on the streets was illegal in the USA.

Drawing by Ari (9 years old)

In 1906, the Playground Association of America was founded, and playground construction began in earnest at the state level. This started a debate about playground safety and the form of playground use. Of note are the so-called "jung playgrounds:" bulldozing sites, wastelands and bombsites in which urban children found opportunities to play together in privacy away from adults. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable during and just after the WW2. In USA, many metal playground structures were dismantled to make weapons. In London, jung playgrounds were built in bombed-out blocks. The first official jung playground opened in Copenhagen under Nazi occupation in 1943. The idea of jung playgrounds was first described in 1931 by the landscape architect Carl T. Sorensen, who believed that children were able to create a space for play in empty barracks and from materials available to them (waste, boards, old tires etc.). Sorensen promoted a theory of free play in contrast to the regulated and controlled play present on most playgrounds in the early 20th century and indeed today. Between 1950 and 1970, themed playgrounds were created to encourage children's imagination, mostly with fantasy or science-fiction elements. From the 1970s onwards, the production of playground structures became business and standardisation took place, with an emphasis on safety. Today's playgrounds differ significantly from the first ones, both in their social function and in their form. We can observe new kinds of playgrounds with new potentials such as intergeneration playgrounds, cyber playgrounds or sensory playgrounds.

Drawing by Nova (7 years old)