Designing Playful Cities

February 18 —
May 20, 2018

Just like eating and sleeping, play is a necessary part of daily life. It helps people of all ages think creatively, solve problems, regulate emotions, and make friends. Play gives people space to explore and to pursue an activity for pleasure with no particular end goal. Yet there’s a misconception that play is a meaningless diversion from more important tasks, which explains why children and adults have such little time to play these days.

To some parents and educators, a child’s time spent learning a second language or pursuing a scholarship sport has an immediate payoff. But children who are all work and no play aren’t just dull; they’re also underdeveloped. The world needs budding musicians and whiz kids, of course. But it also needs young people who are resourceful and can handle life’s ups and downs.

Play is the best teacher for these intuitive life lessons. So as our cities become more and more densely populated, we must design spaces for play into them. MODA’s 2018 exhibition, Designing Playful Cities, took visitors through interactive installations that presented a strong case for designing play into urban environments, encouraged visitors of all ages to engage in play in their day-to-day activities, and inspired designers and developers to create playful spaces in our cities, whether by designing proper playgrounds for children or by converting under-utilized spaces into fun and friendly places.

Curated by Janelle Miniter

Advised by Cynthia Gentry