Playing in the city
Exploring the concept of a playground for adults
ProjectWe as students of the minor Global Health want to think about creating a place where adults can play or work out in a way that ‘having fun’ is the most important thing. The area we are focusing on is the Indische Buurt and Science Park. In this neighborhood we want to find out how different target groups think about the concept of a playground for adults, if they would see playing as a positive and fun thing to do and what their perfect and fun playground would look like.
As children the main thing we do is play, but as we grow up this gets less and less. Why is this? Adults have less time for recreation and might think that playing at their age is weird. We think playing is a good thing and can contribute to your mental- and physical wellbeing in a positive way. This place where adults can play is not about serious physical workout like in a gym, but about having fun. It can be seen as workout in a playful kind of way.
The first step in our project is to get in touch with the neighborhood and talk with and conduct interviews with the people living there. We think it is important to get to know there vision on a playground for adults. We need to do some research about the subject:
- What is the importance of playing for adults?
- Are there any other playgrounds for adults in the world?
- What are pros and cons of a playground for adults?
The research results will give us an idea of why playing should be a good thing for adults and may give us inspiration for creating the playground. We also want to think about really creating this playground, where can it be built? What should it look like and which materials and objects can be used?
Research area
# 02 – Indische Buurt
Research theme
5 – Health & Vitality
FabCity Campus
This project is part of the FabCity off-campus research programme and Europe by People, the cultural programme organised for the Dutch presidency of the European Union. The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) are the main partner of this programme. Other partners are AHK, HKU, Saxion, InHolland, Sandberg Instituut, Willem de Kooning Academie, Wageningen University en TU Delft.
Contact:
Noortje Willems (student coach minor Global Health)
n.willems@hva.nl
