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Last child in the street?
How can we build the movement to make neighbourhoods, towns and cities more child-friendly? I hereby propose that we steal a page from the playbook of Richard Louv. Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods...
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Street play: can you have too much of it?
I have written before about street play, and plugged the Playing Out project, whose community-based approach to opening up streets for play is spreading fast. A couple of weekends ago I witnessed a...
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When street play went primetime
Here is the item on street play that was broadcast on The One Show last Monday (24 June 2013). It focuses on the road closure session in Worthing that I described in my post from a couple of weeks ago...
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Why would you want to let your child play out in the street?
Even a generation ago, most parents would have greeted this question with blank faces. Playing out was just what kids did – why would you need a reason? Of course, things are different today – for all...
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Aussies push to expand the horizons of childhood
This post shares news of more positive developments in Australia, including a new video promoting street play, and some new state-wide networks that aim to reconnect children with nature. First, street...
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First ever area-wide evaluation of street play proves its potential
Street play initiatives can make a real difference to the lives of thousands of children and families across an urban area. This was the key message of the first ever area-wide study of a street play...
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Still reared in captivity
I originally wrote this article for the Guardian in 2004, on leaving the Children’s Play Council (now Play England). Last weekend’s Big Garden Birdwatch prompted me to ask how much the picture it...
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How street play can help save cities from the car
I am pleased to share a revealing, insightful and inspiring story from my home city. Clare Rogers wanted to make her streets safer for her kids. This goal led her first to organising Playing Out...
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Designing Streets for Play – Research and Observation – Playing Out
This is a quick share of a very useful report pulling together key research and other material on designing streets for play. The report was written for the campaigning group Playing Out by Helen...
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Could street play hold the key to creating more sustainable, livable cities?
This week marked a milestone in the UK street play movement, with the publication of three new reports. The first is an evaluation report by the University of Bristol [pdf link], published by Play...
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