Summary
Play Around the City, developed by the City of Boston, explores how playful interventions in public space can support learning and social interaction. Moving beyond traditional playgrounds, it integrates play into everyday settings such as sidewalks and bus stops, turning routine moments into opportunities for engagement.
Grounded in research linking play to cognitive development and resilience, the project tests how increased access to play—particularly during daily routines—can influence children’s learning and wellbeing.
Installations such as large scale colouring surfaces, interactive maps, and musical structures promote collaboration and creativity, while supporting STEAM learning—an approach that uses science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics as entry points for inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.
By reimagining urban environments, the initiative advances a vision of a playful and inclusive city, where informal learning is embedded in mobility routines
Key aspects
-
Reimagining everyday public space
Transforms sidewalks and bus stops into interactive environments that encourage play and engagement beyond their conventional role. -
Supporting relational interaction
Uses playful activities to stimulate interaction between children and caregivers, strengthening social exchange in public space. -
Expanding equitable access to learning
Extends learning opportunities for all ages through a STEAM-based approach embedded in public space. -
Play as an urban strategy
Tests small scale interventions to understand how play influences learning, resilience, and everyday urban experience.