Play and the city

Abstract

The city has been always configured as a “playground” consisting of courtyards, streets, parks, and secluded or abandoned areas. Children and youth colonized these spaces with a playful socialisation that was part of their learning. Nowadays, the urban condition sees children more and more “under house and school arrest”, unable to move outside without adult supervision, and inhibited in their pursuit of a “sense of adventure,” which includes those experiences where “running a risk” is part of game. Today, the school considers its “learning environment” as an educationally and technologically equipped indoor space. In opposition to this idea, I argue that the first fundamental learning environment is the external one due to its natural and social traits, starting from the nearest space,. which is that of the school or the surrounding area.