“The team was amazing! I was amazed at what the playworkers had created with the cardboard and how much fun the kids were having crawling through the cardboard tunnels. The whole area was turned into this colorful cardboard fantasy. Thank you so much!”
At play:groundNYC, we believe that play shouldn’t be limited to playgrounds and that a city where children can play, create, and explore is a better city for all. Our play residencies put children and play at the heart of urban design by giving young people the opportunity to take over a public space, such as an Open Street, plaza, or park, and to use their imaginations to build and create with other young people.
Our playworkers are onsite to support children’s play and provide all materials (usually reclaimed from the waste stream), including cardboard boxes, fabric, markers, string, tape, costumes, crates, and more. Residencies take place outside and encourage playing, solving, building, drawing, folding, shaping, stacking, laughing, and creating.
imagine a child-friendly city
Develop a play residency
Bringing play to your community can help children develop a sense of belonging and better health outcomes. Invest in the potential of your neighborhood’s public space by putting children at the center of the urban environment: get in touch to develop a play residency today.
OR START your own pop-up!
If you'd like to learn more about playwork and developing a 2-hour pop-up in your own neighborhood, we're here to help. We’ve partnered with Pop-Up Adventure Play, The Lego Foundation, and ChangeX to develop a toolkit, which can be found here. Thanks for joining us!
SOME OF OUR AMAZING COMMUNITY PARTNERS
NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
Trust for Governors Island
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
KOKO Open Source
The Village Alliance
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
Jerome Gun Hill BID
Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets
Riverside Park Conservancy
Court Square Civic Association
Voces Ciudadanas
Pache Montessori
Friends of Christ Church Cobble Hill
Rooted Us Unconference
Tribeca Family Festival
Friends of Jerome Park
Industry City
Court Square Civic Association
Uptown Grand Central
34th Avenue Open Streets
Loisaida Festival
103 Park to Park Open Streets
Street Lab
NYC Department of Transportation