Cities For Play by cftlc

Cities for Play

Project Objectives

Children as catalysts for re-imagining our commons Cities for Play is a vision rooted in the realization that very little has been done in the public realm to fulfill the needs of children especially in low income settlements. Children typically spend sixteen hours or more in a day in their homes and community settings. Also, one in eight children in urban India live in slums where infrastructure is insufficient and living conditions are poor. The constraints of their home unit sizes in low income settlements entails an added pressure to the performance of the commons to satisfy their needs as growing children. Effecting change in these settings through play can therefore contribute positively to their cognitive and motor skills and becomes an endeavour to level the playing field for these children.

Creation of vibrant, safe and playful public realms in low income settlements.

Inducing behavioral change for impact across crosscutting themes such as solid waste management, gender equality and good health & wellbeing.

Image Source: Loop

Image Source: Other Projects

Holistic child development through the concept of play. Image Source: Other Projects

Uplifting low income settlements by investing in their future citizens. Image Source: arenas basabe palacios

Cities for Play contributes to the following SDGs

The city as we know it School Low income housing (High density)

Convenience store Hospital

Bus stop Play ground

Large format retail stores Apartments (High Density)

Park

School

Business center

Parking lot

Shopping mall

Residence Gated community

This diagram represents a sect of a some of its more significant elements.

The child’s city School

Convenience store

Low income housing (High density) Bus stop Apartments (High Density)

Play ground

Park

School

Parking lot

Residence Gated community

The city as used by a child, Places of interest and need that a child accesses independently everyday.

Live

Learn

Play

A typical day in the life of a child in a city School

Convenience store

Low income housing (High density) Bus stop Apartments (High Density)

Play ground

Park

School

Parking lot

Residence

In order to navigate their city, a child should be able to safely and independently access the highlighted routes in their daily routine

Gated community

Live

Learn

Play

bage du ar

The city’s transect

Litt

bage dump ar

on the st

ts ree

ce s spa

Unused park

me d o p ram en og

age dum arb

Un pr

& abund a

rs ca

ag e rb

Unsafe streets

Reimagining a child friendly city rs

fitness cor rid tive c o A

Ad v

Le a r

The child city’s transect

und with

e ss tn

t ball aren ske

lay Child friendly streets

play

b ase d p

ture based en

pla

g based nin

gro ay

t ball pra cti Foo

Methodology

Step 3 - Participatory planning (4-8 weeks)

Step 1: Project initialization (2-3 weeks)

Identification of

Site recce

site & secondary research

Permissions from relevant

Finalization

agencies and consent from community

of site

Information dissemination

Community meeting to finalize priorities for design of play spaces

Mapping the routes and spaces used by children and activities

Participatory design

Master plan

Tactical Urbanism

Step 4 - Planning & Execution on site (Timeline is subject to funding and scale of the project)

Step 2: Site study and stakeholder engagement (4-8 weeks)

Demographic survey

Discussion with experts

Interviews with kids to understand needs and perceptions

Focus group discussions with parents & grandparents to understand needs and perceptions

Identifying locally available material & skills for construction

Identifying individuals interested in learning how to build

Post implementation Building the play spaces with the local activities and handing over to community/ other community organizations for longer term sustenance

Design principles

Multi-functionality of space Image source: fiafoundation.org

Lighter Quicker Cheaper approach

Using locally available materials

Using recyclable materials: e.g. End of life tyres (ELT)

Image source: Anthill Creations

Image source: Qnewshub

Image source: Anthill Creations

Juxtaposition of play spaces for different age groups to encourage cross-learning

Using locally available skills/ expertise for construction Image source: Alarmy

Image source: rethinkingchildhood

Types of play

Imagination based play

Fitness based play

Adventure based play

Tactical & Sensory based play

Fun based play

Sports based play

Image source: gehlpeople

Image source: KaBOOM

Image source: Landezine

Image source: KaBOOM

Image source: NY Times

LEARN

PLAY

LIVE

LEARN

LIVE

LEARN UA

R TE

LIVE

t Ro

LIVE

LEARN

Marina Beach

PLAY

D H YA

Chennai

LIVE Kamaraj Salai

esan

Dr. B

A AG

LIVE

LEARN

ED AROUN D EDSH AY O

LEARN

P LE MI

Potential sites for implementing Cities for Play in Chennai

LIVE

Site Description Ayodhya Nagar Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board settlements Urban fishing villages

Ayodhya Nagar is a fishing colony located at the heart of Chennai right across from the Marina beach. In 2017, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) undertook an in-situ resettlement project here and built 4-storey tenements in a gridded layout to house the 730 odd families who were native residents of this fishing village. Despite a fairly smooth resettlement effort, the design of the public realm here was left unaddressed;

apart from the vacant parcels of land in the periphery and center of the site, all corridors between the tenement blocks were also left unprogrammed. The Cities for Play project aims to reimagine these shared commons through the needs of the 1000+ children who live here but were not accounted for in the design of both the built and unbuilt spaces.

Entry point 28

27 12

Entry point dM RTS line

26 25

Entry point

t Roa

Lady

Willin g

don s

choo

try

Kamaraj Salai

int

Towards Santhome

Residential street 18

esan

Dr. B

Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board

Central court

Residential street

Ele vat e

Towards Fort St. George

Map of Ayodhya Nagar

Activity mapping

High levels of passive surveillance Moderate levels of passive surveillance Low levels of passive surveillance Adults play zone Kids play zone Resting/ schmoozing spot Vending spot On-street parking Drying clothes

Implementation strategy

STRENGTHS

Project related activities

Finalizing a site/ seeking permissions for implementation from concerned agencies • Site documentation and mapping • Identifying possible spaces for intervention

Community engagement and outreach efforts

27 12

A7 B7

WEAKNESS

Limited opportunities for economic & personal growth

Reaching out to community leaders for endorsement • Disseminating information about the project to the community • Conducting surveys/ focus group discussions with children and parents to understand issues and concerns • Ideating possible ways to program the spaces for intervention • Identifying local skills available towards implementation • Organizing community sporting events • Clean-up drives and awareness programs on solid waste management

10 A6

A10 23

14 29

OPPORTUNITY

Plenty of unprogrammed open spaces

B10

05 22

A11 21

Costing for the project based on long-list of interventions • Planning for implementation with available funds • Implementation in chosen pockets within the settlement

Strong sense of community; inherent skill sets of fisher-folk; and willingness to take up active play and sports

Project related activities

THREATS

Poor solid waste management coupled with lack of awareness

A12

Identified opportunities for intervention

C3 C4

Fundraising and scaling up Reaching out to government agencies • Reaching out to CSR channels • Applying to grant programs • Forging collaborations with organizations to help scale up and drive the project forward

D2 E3

Unprogrammed/ residual open spaces Service alleyways Access corridors Major street crossings Unprogrammed traffic islands

Existing service alleyway

Proposed intervention

A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8

Existing open space

Proposed intervention

Existing access corridor

Proposed intervention

B1 B2 B3 B8 B9 B10

B10

Existing open space

Proposed intervention

“Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air But will you keep on building higher ‘Til there’s no more room up there? Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry? Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die? I know we’ve come a long way We’re changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play?” - Cat Stevens C5

Stakeholder engagement activities

Mr. S. Sasikumar Community leader

Meeting with

the community leader

Mr. K Elangovan International Athletics referee; P.T instructor Before

Mr. Rajani (L) and Mr. Rajan: Local champions for cities for play in Ayodhya Nagar

05 Video for information dissemination about the project to people of Ayodhya Nagar Click here to watch

Project brief video for officials Click here to watch

Organized in partnership with Urbaser Sumeet (agency in charge of solid waste disposal) & community.

Focus group discussions

of Ayodhya Nagar

After

Information dissemination through videos

Testimonials from residents

Community clean up drive

06 FGDs with children of Ayodhya Nagar

FGDs with residents of Ayodhya Nagar

The cleaned up central court was used to conduct badminton matches . These matches were conducted in 2 categories: Boy’s - Singles & Girl’s Singles in knockout format with 10 boys & 16 girls participating.

Badminton tournament

Outreach posters in the regional language - Tamil - that were put up in the neighborhood

உங்களில் இந்திய அணிக்ககா்க அடுத்து விளையகாடப் ப�காவது யகார்?

நடரகாஜன்

தீபி்ககா �ல்லிக்கல்

நைமது அரயோத்தியோ நைகள� குழநளதைகளுக்கு முன்னுரிளம அளிக்கும் ஊ�ோக மோற்றும் முயற்சி An initiative to make Ayothiya Nagar a child friendly neighbourhood

மகாரியப்�ன் தங்கபவலு

பஜகாஷனகா சின்னப்�கா

விஸவநகாதன் ஆனந்த்

ஆர�ோக்கியம்

Health

விளையோட்டு

Sports

மகிழ்ச்சி

Fun

ஷரத் ்கமல்

குழநளநைகளின் ஆர�ோக்கியரம நைமது ஊரின் ஆர�ோக்கியம் பதகானி Project initiative by

In collaboration with

With the support of

Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board Greater Chennai Corporation

Setting up for the community meeting

Supported by

Pilot project funded by

Saint - Gobain Scholarship, 2019 Plus Foundation

Community meeting

Participatory planning installation

Outcome Activity Badminton Slide and rock climbing Cricket practice corridor Cricket Volley ball Outdoor gym Monkey bar Hopscotch Basketball Swing corridor Rock climbing Leisure corridor Hanging bridge Adults Fitness trail Heaving hoops Kids Fitness trail

Number of votes 51 26 22 17 17 12 12 8 8 8 6 5 3 3 1 1

Neighborhood walking tour Children from the neighborhood undertook a walk along the open spaces and corridors to select the spaces they wanted playscapes introduced in. Outcome Corridor B9 C2 B2 B1 B2 C5 A1 A11 C4 A4 B8 A8 A12

Number of votes 50 40 29 27 27 26 24 24 23 21 21 20 20

B4 A6 A10 B5 B6 A9 C3 A3 C8 A5 B7 A7 C6 B10

19 18 17 17 16 15 15 15 14 12 9 9 6 4

Inference C2 & C3 are the unprogrammed/ residual spaces that majority want to be transformed. With respect to service alleys and access corridors the kids want those immediately next to their individual houses activated with play.

Nature of proposed

Ayodhya Nagar

₹₹₹₹

interventions at

Male Female

₹ ₹₹ ₹₹₹ ₹₹₹₹

Land Ownership Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board Greater Chennai Corporation

UNPROGRAMMED / RESIDUAL OPEN SPACES.

Cost Estimate (In INR)

₹₹

₹₹₹₹

45 sq.m

56 sq.m

240 sq.m

Gardening: for ages 8 to 59

Climber, slide & sand pit: for ages 2 to 13

₹

56.8 sq.m

Fitness Corridor: for ages 5 to 13

₹₹₹₹₹

₹₹₹

₹₹

56.8 sq.m

Basket ball: for ages 13 to 30

631 sq.m

264 sq.m

Kabaddi / Volley ball court: for ages 8 to 49

Badminton Court: for ages 8 to 49

₹₹

56.8 sq.m

₹₹

263 sq.m

Gully cricket: for ages 8 to 30

2147 sq.m

Gardening: for ages 8 to 59

231 sq.m

Board games: for ages 8 to 80

Fitness Corridor: for ages 13 to 24 ACCESS CORRIDORS

Gender proposed for

5,000 - 24,999 25,000 - 74,999 75,000 - 1,49,999 1,50,000 - 2,49,999 >/= 2,50,000

Hope Scotch wall climber: for ages 5 to 13

Nature and Garden trail: for ages 8 to 80

Individual Group

₹₹

56.8 sq.m

1101 sq.m

Type of Activity

₹ ₹ ₹ ₹ ₹

₹₹

56.8 sq.m

Heaving hoops: for ages 5 to 13

interventions at

Type of Activity Individual Group

ACCESS CORRIDORS

Ayodhya Nagar

22.56sq m

B3 ₹

Kids zone: for ages 2 to 5

B2 22.56sq m

22.56sq m

B10 ₹₹

22.56sq m

Bridge: for ages 5 to 13

For ages 8 to 80

₹₹

Cricket practice: for ages 8 to 13

B9 ₹₹

Obstacle course: for ages 5 to 13

22.56sq m

₹₹

Swing corridor: for ages 5 to 13

CHILD FRIENDLY CROSSING DESIGNS

Nature of proposed

52 sq. m

D2 40 sq. m

Gender proposed for

Cost Estimate (In INR) ₹ ₹₹ ₹₹₹ ₹₹₹₹

Land Ownership Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board Greater Chennai Corporation

Balancing bars: for ages 5 to 13

123 sq.m

785 sq.m ₹₹₹

Drying clothes

5,000 - 24,999 25,000 - 74,999 75,000 - 1,49,999 1,50,000 - 2,49,999 >/= 2,50,000

SERVICE ALLEYWAYS

₹ ₹ ₹ ₹ ₹

A11

Skating/ Football/ Hockey drills: for ages 5 to 18

A4, A5, A6, A7, A8 103 sq.m each

A3 66 sq.m

450 sq.m

Seating

Gardening

Urban farming: for ages 8 to 80

A12 Shops

Drying fish

Board games

Wall art

87 sq.m

A10 93 sq.m

UNPROGRAMMED TRAFFIC ISLANDS

Male Female

₹

E2 168 sq.m ₹₹

E3 128 sq.m ₹₹

₹

Project team

Vidhya Mohankumar

Partner organizations

Srivardhan Rajalingam

Vidhya Venkatesan

Nawin Saravanan