Play environments are where children build their first passions, their understanding of justice and how communities work. You can predict the future of a community by examining the places provided for the children to play.
Play Design Workshop – Saturday, November 9th – 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED – Register by Tuesday, November 5th – Late registrants can be included but may not receive lunch.
REGISTER HERE
LOCATION: Play Cousins Collective – Mizizi Homeschool Coop – 2600 West Broadway, Louisville KY, 40201 (Upstairs in Lyles Mall – Suite 205)
A Community Effort to Design a Play Space Located in the Russell Neighborhood of Louisville, KY that is adaptable or adoptable by other efforts to bring more safe play into urban environments
The exercise will focus on a plot of land that includes 437 – 441 South 30th Street. This is part of a larger effort by Russel: A Place of Promise to address needs identified by the community.
During the design exercise, teams will focus on play designs for the site (above) while others work on ideas to connect the play project to the existing neighborhood assets and opportunities that are part of the larger context of the site. The hope is that the conversations supported by this design effort will have ripple effects that benefit other urban play aspirations within the urban environments of Louisville and beyond. Below are maps that place this project within that larger context.
Who?
A number of people with direct connections to this project, along with regional and national experts in urban play, have been invited to this workshop. If you are also interested we would love to hear from you. ESPECIALLY if you are part of the Russell Community. It would be helpful if you reached out directly to Claude Stephens, Director of Bernheim’s Children at Play Network, at cstephens@bernheim.org or by calling 502-215-7121 if you want more information on whether this opportunity might match your interests and expectations.
Schedule of the Day
9:30-10:00 Arrive at 2600 West Broadway, Suite 205, Louisville KY, 40211 (Upstairs in the Lyles Mall)
10:00 Overview and introductions
10:10-10:30 Dr. Rasul Mowatt, Associate Professor in Recreation, Parks and Tourism, Indiana University, Bloomington IN (see bio below)
10:30-11:00 Project opportunities – Cassandra Webb, Theresa Zawacki and neighborhood residents – Russell: A Place of Promise
11:00-12:00 Work Session 1 – Those present will be divided into smaller design teams to come up with ideas and options
12:00-12:40 Simple lunch provided – conversation
12:40-1:20 Work Session 2 – Teams prepare and pin up their designs and conversation notes
1:20-2:00 Presentations and conversation
What happens during the work sessions?
Participants will be divided into smaller design teams based on their interest in designing for the playground case study site OR whether they would prefer to focus on the community assets that could support the project which may include programs and services. Experts and resource people will be distributed between the teams or will rotate among teams. Design teams will chose their own method of proceeding. Materials will be on hand that support:
- Looking through photos of precedents from other urban projects
- Using modeling materials to build examples of their visions
- Using art materials and design tools to draw layouts and site plans
- Describe programs and services which could be attached to the project
During the final 40 minute work session each team will be challenged to pull their thinking into a short presentation that will be presented to the entire group.
What Comes After?
Throughout the day we will document the work of the group with photographs and sound recordings. Each teams design efforts will be collected, documented and turned over to the Russel: A Place of Promise team to support future community conversations which will include opportunities for children and community residents to continue the work. The Children at Play Network will present a review of the workshop efforts on this website.
Featured Speaker
Rasul Mowatt is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies of the Department of American Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences as well as an Associate Professor in Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies within the School of Public Health and Indiana University, Bloomington. His main research areas include social justice, cultural studies, leisure behavior, and critical pedagogy. His teaching, research and service is strongly centered on critiquing society for the issues that are prevalent and impacting the social well-being of people. Rasul will help frame the work of the design teams within a larger cultural context.
Design Workshop Partners:
With generous support from:
Additional Information:
Earlier efforts at the site resulted in planting fruit trees, placement of pathways and a shipping container for storage, and other site amenities. Each design team will consider the existing site attributes and available materials while developing future visions for the site that support play.
