The Politics of Play | Metropolis Magazine

The Politics of Play | Metropolis Magazine There is a movement afoot to create recreational spaces that better serve our cities and our children.

Nice try... We need less urban design and more coaching. We need a simple solution, as in teamwork, sport, teaching, friendship making, discipline and effort.

The Politics of Play | Metropolis Magazine “We wanted to invert the typical layout, where caretakers are on the outside,” Nash says.

Who says caretakers are on the outside? Come on. We've got layers of issues here. Parents and caretakers are not to be on the outside in a vibrant setting. But, there are lots of ways and times when parents are put on the outside by various institutional designs.

I fully agree that some need to "think again" and "rethink the relationship among children, playground design, and public space. Creating more inclusive spaces for children and families, so the logic goes, is one step toward making the entire city a safer and more welcoming place for kids."

Bingo!

The City of Pittsburgh has a long, long, long way to go before it is more welcoming place for kids -- and for safety.

Pittsburgh should not be trying to build subsidized downtown lofts for rich folks without kids.

Pittsburgh should not be short on Crossing Guards and long on downtown safety ambassadors, hired by the Pgh Downtown Partnership with its own BID (Business Improvement District) tax.

Pittsburgh's improvements to its parks landscape is a joke. The short-term goal of a bike path from Etna to McKeesport isn't something that is going to be of value to kids. But kids would really like to be able to ride a bike to school and secure it without getting killed on the way or have the bike stolen.

By the way, the Merry-Go-Round in Schenley Park is a sure way to put the caretakers on the outside, perhaps at the Coffee Bar or with a Danish. No insult intended for the Danes or Danish landscape architect Helle Nebelong. Perhaps I should say spectators with a mega sized muffin, not Danish.

And the merry-go-round that has been taken out of parks in the USA isn't like the one at Kennywood. I think they are talking about the spinning platform that you push, run and jump on before falling off dizzy as a drunk at 2 AM on East Carson Street merry-go-round.