Image Source: Patkó Klári, MTI
The Right to Play – György Dániel Győrfi, Laura Kovács
Student Research Societies 2020 – 2nd prize and “There is no Planet B!” Sustainable Special Award
National Student Research Societies 2021 – Special Award
We played with the idea: what kind of society would grow up if the children were given the city usage rights that they might deserve even today? What if game, and thus community life, were not just locked into enclosed buildings and fenced playgrounds? What if we didn’t squeeze children into smaller and smaller spaces so that we could keep them safe, but we, grown city dwellers, tried to coexist with attention to children as well? After all, they have the same right to our public spaces as we do.
In our research we tried to find a strategy how to start to bring in the child friendly viewpoints into the streets of Budapest. Our main tool for that was to get know the children of the area and to map the routes they take in their everyday life. After we had these routes, we could select strategic points like crossings and vacant lots where we could start to transform the urban environment more child friendly with the tool of the placemaking. As a pilot place we chose the surroundings off the Kiss József street in the 8th district.
We believe that placemaking could be one of the best ways to give back the children the space they deserve if we handle it as an element of a bigger strategy. And as a result, this new approach will be profitable for all of the citizens, because the city that serves the smallest, and most vulnerable, actually has a positive impact on everyone.
The entire research can be viewed here.
Consultants: György Alföldi DLA, Olívia Kurucz