PLAYFUL BOSTON
A theory on the civic power of play(fulness) and a coordinated, citywide effort to incorporate and support playful approaches to civic life in untraditional spaces
Product
A Theory of Civic Play & Portfolio of Civic Play Pilot Projects
Website
Role
Program Director, Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics
GUIDING QUESTIONS
PARTNERS
PROCESS
OUTCOMES
How might we enable more collaborative, resilient, and empathetic community interactions?
Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Racial Equity
Mayor’s Education Cabinet
Boston Children’s Museum
The Harvard Center on the Developing Child
Playworks New England
Researched, scoped, and authored a theory of change and strategic plan built around the capacity for playful design to enable civic behavior. Developed research and implementation partnerships with institutions from across the city. And, designed a portfolio of pilot projects for implementation:
A civic design competition to reimagine Boston Public Schools bus stops with temporary, playful interventions.
A civic design competition to create and winter-activated, nontraditional playful spaces.
An incorporation of the language, visuals, and activities of Boston Basics, important relational and learning habits, into public spaces across the city.
The production of the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics’ first strategic plan, Playful Boston, and a portfolio of funded and implementable initial pilot projects. Initial learnings from both point to the benefits of playful and delight-oriented attitudes in relation to more collaborative, human and relational-centered projects.