The
PLAY LAYER
Movement Play as a tool for urban vitality
2024
Master of Landscape Architecture Capstone Studio, University of Washington Department of Landscape Architecture
The Play Layer | Introduction
Playing is a form of understanding what surrounds us and who we are, and a way of engaging with others. Play is a mode of being human.
Miguel
Sicart 1
The intertwined pressures of housing costs and decarbonization lead growing cities towards a common destiny. Increasing density and development must occur in tandem with a movement away from single-occupant car rides and towards mass transit and human powered movement - frequently combined in the same trip. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced this trend will continue to accelerate. Planning concepts like transit-oriented development and the “15 Minute City” lead this process but landscape architecture also has an important role to play.
The design of our outdoor spaces on a neighborhood and site level influences not only how people will walk, bike, and skate through the neighborhood but whether they will choose one of these options at all versus taking their trip by car. Improving the appeal of our pedestrian spaces can create a positive feedback loop for their use.
This powerful connection is too often lost in urban environments. The laudable pursuit of safety and efficiency has literally and figuratively flattened our pedestrian spaces. We walk and roll along proscribed and obvious paths with little opportunity for exploration and physical connection. This lack of physical engagement with the landscape subtly renders our urban spaces more anonymous, sterile, and utilitarian. If the only point of a place is to be able to get through it quickly, why not just drive?
Fast, efficient, utilitarian? Active, rewarding, fun?
Circulation design is rightly focused on safety, efficiency, and aesthetics, in roughly that order. While these are critical considerations, they sometimes obscure one of human-powered transportation’s key advantages over car travel: fun.
The act of moving our own bodies through our environment is a core part of the human experience of place. We evolved to navigate landscapes that were often complex and challenging. Movement play occurs when we use these methods of traversal for the purpose of pleasure, not necessity. Movement play feels rewarding because it taps into an innate desire to connect with our environment on a physical level. We still get these opportunities in the natural world. Going for a hike offers us the option to hop over roots, balance on logs, and scramble up rocks. It’s part of why we are so drawn to natural areas.
Urban action sports like skateboarding, BMX, and parkour are an attempt to find movement play in these flattened environments. While city planners are increasingly willing to take action sports seriously, confining these activities to discrete areas like skateparks misses their potential power. The key insight of all these action sports is that circulation can be playful. We need to design and build for movement play as a core, integrated layer of the urban environment. By intentionally designing for movement play we can make the pleasure of these activities accessible to a much broader section of the population and build richer and more attractive urban spaces.
This document is an attempt to describe movement play systematically and consider how it arises in an urban context. It proceeds from abstract to concrete, first describing the types of movement play, to the forms that afford those play types, to the material characteristics of play areas, and finally to concept designs in the Northgate neighborhood, an area of Seattle emblematic of densifying urban neighborhoods transitioning away from cars.
1. Miguel Sicart. 2014. Play Matters. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, p. 1. https://doi-org. offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.7551/mitpress/10042.001.0001
Play Types | Bicycling
Biking becomes playful when it departs from utilitarian travel. While a typical bike path is standardized, predictable, and even to allow a fast rate of travel, playful bike environments afford bikers opportunities to make dynamic vertical and lateral moves while negotiating sinuous or unpredictable terrain.
Expert riders on specialized bikes for BMX, trials, and mountain biking can go far beyond the simple modalities described here. Advanced moves like acrobatics typically require more space and safety equipment than is appropriate for an urban setting.
Cornering
Turning with speed - especially where the angle of the trail or constriction of the line encourages it. Berms, banks and sinuous paths invite users to play with how they turn their bike.
Jumping
Getting one or both wheels off of the ground. Encompasses jumping down (drop), jumping up (bunny hop), and the use of ramps to aid launching. Jumping is also the foundation of acrobatic movements on bikes.
Balancing & Technical Riding
Technical riding involves navigating narrow and twisting paths or uneven terrain like rocks that force a rider to slow down and focus on precision and balance.
Pumping
Moving one’s body up and down in conjunction with rolling terrain to gain and maintain speed. Sequences of several small, undulating hills afford users the opportunity to pump instead of pedaling to propel themselves.
Play Types | Walking
Movement or functional play involves traversing a challenging environment using just one’s body. Urban spaces are most inviting for movement play when they offer some rationale for choosing a challenging movement over walking. This could be as simple as a shortcut of stepping stones leading over a stream or across a fountain. The first step towards creating spaces for movement play is considering alternate paths of circulation and shaping the space so that users can discover these options for themselves.
A wide variety of materials and structures can be used to enable movement play, especially compared to the more specific demands of skating. Structures that offer the possibility for play should be sturdy and resilient both in their construction and visual appearance.
Structures specifically designed for play such as a playground slide will usually trigger the need for safety surfacing and compliance with playground standards like ASTM F-1487.
Sliding
Gliding on a sloped, low-friction surface, usually in a seated or reclined position. A surface that encourages sliding should be uniformly smooth with no sharp pieces and have a clear space to land at the end.
Climbing
Use of hands and feet to traverse vertically (up or down). Natural forms like rock walls or artificial forms like ladders and terraces are both options. Most people need good footholds to climb comfortably.
Jumping
Overcoming a gap by dynamically getting both feet off the ground. Structures that encourage jumping should maintain their grip when wet and avoid sharp edges.
Balancing
Movement that challenges a user’s proprioception and body-awareness with narrow or uneven surfaces
Play Types | Skating
The term small-wheel sports encompasses the use of a variety of vehicles such as skateboards, scooters, and inline skates for transportation and recreation. Skating is primarily an urban sport which has developed to rely on the materials and forms of the city as spaces for play.
Although high-flying examples from the X-Games are quite memorable, small-wheel sports are practiced by a wide demographic variety of users and do not by necessity involve great risk or speed.
While someone using a skateboard will approach a movement differently than someone on a scooter, the play types listed here are common across disciplines.
Grinding
Use of non-rolling surfaces to slide, as in along a railing or ledge. Sturdy and low-friction materials are helpful for longevity.
Flatland
Skate play in the absence of structures. Flatland skating often involves manipulating the vehicle itself such as flipping a skateboard or whipping the tail of a scooter.
Many kinds of structures afford skaters the opportunity to jump. Most important is providing sufficient room to build speed while approaching the jump and roll safely away after it without running into obstacles or other users.
Carving Jumping
A carve is a tight or aggressive turn. When performed on sloping terrain, carving produces a pleasant feeling of weightlessness and allows skaters to build and maintain their speed.
Player Types
A foundational concept in game design is to understand that people play games for different reasons. Many people play primarily as a social activity while other people are more motivated by competition or exploration. Consider how the potential users of a site might break down between these archetypes and how they interact with the physical forms of play discussed previously. In studies of gamification, approximately 80% of users identify socializing as their primary motivator for participation. How can design help activate the social possibilities of biking and skating, for example?
(Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/bartle-s-player-types-for-gamification)
Competition
Exploration
Socializing Achievement
Core Forms | Ramp
People play with ramps to experience acceleration and weightlessness. Consider whether a user will be likely to travel along the slope (as with a playground slide) or across the slope in a curving arc (as with a bank).
The slope of a ramp is critical to consider when envisioning what play opportunities it will afford. Gentle slopes will likely only be usable for wheeled sports while seated sliding requires a steeper angle (30 degrees for playground slides). Ramps beyond 45 degrees are likely uninviting for most unless they are part of a progressive concave slope as in a quarterpipe.
Ramps are well suited to sites with modest grade change. Gentle banks, quarterpipes and slides can activate the vertical space between flat areas. Two quarter-pipes opposed from each other across a flat area form a “mini ramp” which helps skaters maintain speed back and forth. Any two ramp features like this that create a valley in between will have a similar effect.
Kickers require generous spacing on both sides for safe approaches and exits. Keep height and distance small in shared spaces and consider filling in the gap to make the jump more beginner-friendly.
Consider sight lines at all times. Ramps provide and encourage speed, so both the users and others in the space should be able to see if someone is crossing their path.
1. Embankment Slide
Manufactured slides integrated into the slope. These slides only require safety surfacing at their exit, making them easier to integrate.
2. Kicker
Small ramps close to the ground. Landing areas often slope down for softer landings and ambidextrous approaches.
3. Bank
Ramps that invite travel across the slope. Look for opportunities to integrate into retained grade next to mixed-use paths.
4. Quarter-pipe
Ramps with a concave curve. Quarterpipes often feature coping or a reinforced edge at the top to enable grinding.
Ramp Precedents
This gentle wave in a Copenhagen plaza offers a fun hill to bike over, a place to sit, and a ledge to grind - all in one.
Off-the-shelf embankment slides are arranged in sequence along a path of pedestrian travel in this Tacoma, WA park. Note the safety surfaced exits.
skateable sculpture in
Core Forms | Wall
Walls serve both to separate and create space. The scale and form of a wall can invite climbing or jumping, especially when a path across the wall is implied by the circulation of a space. The tops of walls can also become their own spaces that afford balancing, grinding, or perching.
Consider how the setting of a wall affords different types of play behavior. A wall set in grass or cobblestones will not attract skaters but could be compelling for jumping or climbing depending on the choice of materials and the presence of adjacent structures such as other walls.
Examples
Walls can be risky to integrate into a design because they obstruct sight and movement. Look for spaces where walls are otherwise needed and use a gentle hand when adding extra. Activating a required retaining wall with climbing holds or sculpted concrete is one way to convert a potential liability into a playful asset.
Creating openings in walls helps counteract their sight-obstructing tendencies. Avoid openings between 3” and 9” as these have the potential for head-entrapment of small children.
Look for multiple lines of travel when laying out walls since different play types may use the same wall structure in different directions. A ledge could offer grinding to skaters traveling along the length of the structure and a jumping takeoff for a parkour athlete traveling perpendicular to the skater.
1. Opening
Gaps and windows through walls invite curiosity and exploration, especially when they are placed to suggest different movement types.
2. Climbing Wall
Natural or artificial forms that lend themselves to climbing and scrambling. Consider obvious hand and foot holds and a “reward” for climbing such as a place to sit.
3. Partition
Partition walls physically and visually divide space. They offer informal seating and opportunities to jump and vault.
4. Ledge
Ledges are low walls and platforms with accessible edges. Consider reinforcing edges for grinding and a mix of clear rolling access and adjacent structures to encourage both grinding and jumping.
Wall Precedents
This retaining wall in Bellevue, WA is sculpted and painted to encourage climbing, turning the infrastructure into a play feature.
A sloping wall aligned along a path in South Jordan, UT invites users to interact with the structure as they travel.
Curving partition walls at a park in Barcelona Suggest movement through their sinuous shape and the colored line embedded in the top.
Low walls above this Barcelona subway station curve in both plan and section. Note the ground plane lifting up in a gentle curve on the left.
Core Forms | Rail
Railings define and divide space in pedestrian environments. They are frequently required by statute for hand-gripping and fall-protection. Depending on their arrangement and diameter they may afford opportunities to slide, swing, balance, grind, and jump.
Since railings are almost always metal they also offer an excellent option for introducing color through painted sections. Graphics or other environmental cues are important to get general users to engage with railings for play since they are otherwise likely to blend into the background for people who are not predisposed to parkour, skating, etc.
Railings’ low cost and non-play utility make them easy to integrate into a variety of landscapes. In the case of a handrail like #1, adding play potential is less about the form of the handrail than the space surrounding it. A straight, smooth entry and exit will do more to make the rail attractive to skaters than the specific dimensions of the handrail which are largely governed by statute.
High bars are best in combination with other structures. They can be combined into small bar-sets for parkour as shown in the example above or integrated into handrail arrangements, building facades, or other infrastructure.
1. Handrail
In addition to providing an important practical function, angled rails afford the opportunity to slide. While grinding a handrail is a serious challenge, many people can enjoy sliding in a seated position if the rail is smooth and the landing is clear.
2. High Bar
A railing that is set high enough to suspend at least some of a user’s weight. Smaller diameters are important to allow the hands to wrap.
3. Sliding Pole
Famously used in old fire-houses, sliding poles offer a quick and playful way to descend levels. These are more likely than other structures to be considered play elements and require an attenuating surface below them.
4. Low Bar
A railing between ankle and waist height. Larger diameters make balancing and grinding more approachable.
Rail Precedents
This temporary installation in Copenhagen weaves high and low bars through existing trees and remnant concrete walls.
The visual wave in this custom handrail in Manchester attracts skaters and urban skiers during the winter months.
A “pop-up” scaffolding structure for beginner parkour is used for a temporary playactivation at Seattle’s Waterfront Park.
image from: “NewSchoolers Forums” Jan. 2021 (https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/920252/Wavy-AF-street-DFD)
A sculptural bus stop in Austria invites users to climb and slide amidst a forest of vertical bars. A sign on the structure forbids climbing for “safety”.
Core Forms | Path
Paths are so integral to the built environment as to easily become invisible when thinking about play. Although paths are frequently the underlying structure upon which other elements of movement play are constructed, the paths themselves can also be an impetus for playful movement.
Simply deviating from a straight, efficient line can be enough to bring an element of play to a pathway. Curving the path along one or more axiis affords an opportunity for challenge. If this challenging path splits off from the “standard” path it not only highlights the option for play but allows others to avoid the challenge.
Paths also have the most potential for universal design of these core forms. Movement play is physically challenging by its very nature. In designing for users with different physical abilities, paths allow individuals to seek the level of challenge that motivates them.
Examples
A site’s grade or the lack thereof helps determine what kind of paths might be activated for play. Flat or lightly sloped sites are better suited to rollers and narrow bridges while steeper slopes are more appropriate for bermed single track. Bikes and pedestrians can handle steeper slopes than skaters.
Consider multiple paths through a site that match material and slope to intended use. A paved, ADA compliant path could host a skate feature like a small roller while a steeper dirt path reinforced with natural pavers offers bikers a chance to take a fun shortcut.
1. Rock Garden
A section of “paving” typically composed of natural stones. Challenging to roll or walk over and often used to help retain a sloped section of trail.
2. Bridge
Elevated paths - not necessarily crossing over a hazard. Mountain bikers refer to narrow bridge features as “skinnies”.
3. Rollers
Gentle waves spaced to encourage pumping.
4. Single track
Narrow paths designed for biking. Berms and turns help riders keep their speed.
Path Precedents
This asphalt trail in Bentonville AR weaves through trees and incorporates rollers and banked turns for added fun without steep natural terrain.
The long driftwood log in the center of the frame has had its top flattened to make a subtle shortcut path in this Seattle shoreline park.
A small balance ramp at a school in Madison, WI. Note that the trail runs alongside the optional challenging feature.
In this Copenhagen pocket park multiple playful paths are suggested by cobblestone pavers. Note the gentle rollers and squeeze between the bushes.
Surface Materials
Rough and uneven surfaces are more likely to be unattractive or unusable for wheeled sports. Small, hard skate wheels in particular have a difficult time even on regular but rough terrain like exposed-aggregate concrete.
Graphical Strategies
Color Shape Text
A single shade of red dominates this mixed-use play area atop a parking garage in Copenhagen. The play equipment is red and so is this pergola, giving implicit permission to play with it.
In another Danish example, waving lines across a paved plaza suggest obstacles to leap over or a path to weave one’s bike through. The simple and inexpensive paint transforms this expanse of asphalt into a space for expression.
A fresh juice store in Seattle has a pullup bar custom built into their storefront facade. The tongue-in-cheek sign offers a teasing challenge and brings a social aspect to the simple structure.
Adaptive Use
Walking Biking Skating
Physical disabilities vary widely and many disabled users can adapt their style of movement play to the environment. Providing opportunities for progressive challenge can be especially helpful for people with physical limitations.
Adding a third wheel enables a wide variety of adaptive bike setups for people with limited balance or leg use. Adaptive bikes can handle grades far beyond the ADA wheelchair ramp recommendation of 1:12 but stairs are still an issue.
Image by The National Mobility Center SEP. 2022 (https://townlift.com/2022/09/adaptive-mountainbiking-hits-a-snag-with-few-accessible-trails-in-park-city/ Image
Adventurous wheelchair users often find the smooth ramps and berms of skatepark architecture to be a good fit for their chairs. Since wheelchair users can’t jump on flat ground it is important to link platforms with ramps if possible.
Natural Forms
Trees Boulders
Along with the obvious vertical climbing, some tree species will spread horizontally to offer balancing and jumping lower to the ground. Western Red Cedars are a good example.
Rock climbers seek out appealing boulders and share their climbs on sites like Mountain Project (the source of this annotated photo). Provide clear, flat ground around such boulders.
Logs & Stones Water
Low, natural elements placed around this water feature at a Portland, OR park encourage using the structures to jump or step over the small stream.
Lawrence Halprin famously combined water with brutalist forms to evoke an urban interpretation of a mountain cascade in his Keller Fountain in Portland.
Distributed | Path
Mapping: Paths aligned with open space
Pedestrian infrastructure such as sidewalks and multi-use paths running alongside open public space offer a chance to integrate small movement play features into a route that already serves many users. Small interventions such as a sinuous optional path or obstacle feature can be placed as branching opportunities for travel.
Example: College path leading to pedestrian bridge
In this example design, a fork away from the main asphalt path leads to a low wooden plank bridge that curves back and forth around the existing trees. The bridge is 20” wide and 12” high - enough to feel challenging without excessive danger. On the existing path, alternating painted semicircles suggest a similar sinuous path of negative space.
Distributed | Street
Mapping: Greenways & StayHealthy streets Example: “Parking Day” parklette
Seattle’s designated “Greenways” and “Stay Healthy Streets” are two variations on a theme of designating low-car-traffic neighborhood streets as corridors for walking and rolling. They typically involve some form of traffic calming interventions such as alternating planters, curb-bulbs, and speed humps. Designed properly, such structures are an opportunity to add playful movement options to these corridors.
“Parking Day” is a tactical urbanism event that co-opts standard sized streetside parking stalls with temporary parklettes. In the above example, a parklette designed for skating and bike play is aligned along the edge of a Greenway by Licton Springs Park. The asymmetrical wave invites pumping and even jumping while the smooth plywood wall and reinforced metal edge can be skated or perched on. An integrated awning and misting nozzles fed by a small cistern provide some heat relief on hot days.
Distributed | Station
Mapping: Transit Locations
The central node for mass transit in Northgate is the light rail station and adjoining pedestrian bridge and bus bays. Many other bus stops serving local routes also offer potential sites for injecting play into public space. Along with these individual locations, the map above highlights the direct path between the two major north/south transit routes: the light rail along Interstate 5 and the Rapid Ride bus line along SR 99.
Example: Pedestrian bridge to Link Station
The pedestrian bridge offers several small benches along its span including one overlooking the station at a bend in the path (shown above). This example reimagines this small space as a banked concrete berm with an embedded seat wall also following the radius of the corner. A painted stripe suggests a path that follows the gentle slope of the berm while a steel bullnose on the seatwall reinforces the edge for grinding tricks. Behind, the mesh safety barrier is extended through the corner to prevent users flying over the edge.
Unified | Park
Edits: Hubbard Homestead Park
Hubbard Homestead Park is the primary active-use park in Northgate. The park has a contemporary concrete skatepark, a small fitness area, half-court basketball, and an inprogress playground. These edits are intended to illustrate how small interventions in an existing design can enhance the active-play identity of a park without distracting from other uses.
Unified | Park
Edit: Parkour Dot
The entrance to Hubbard’s skatepark already features several low walls, albeit too spread out to offer much play value. By adding additional walls and linking them together with painted rails, the entrance is activated for additional movement play without detracting from skate usage or access.
Unified | Park
Edit: Ramp Bench
The main pathway through Hubbard Homestead has a series of oversized concrete plinth benches topped with wooden slats. Their position in the grass and material choice make them poor candidates for skating. Adding angled slats and a crushed gravel path to each end would allow them to double as beginner-friendly bike features.
Unified | Park
Edit: Wave Wall
A concrete stripe at finished grade divides these two fields. Adding a gentle wave in the vertical axis brings visual interest and offers a challenge to scooter and bike riders.
Unified | Park
Edit: Faux Erratic
The lack of any naturally occuring glacial erratics on the Hubbard Homestead site does not preclude the possibility for climbing. Speciality playground manufacturers can use a combination of digital fabrication and hand carving to produce lifelike aesthetics and textures that offer great climbing value without plastic handholds.
The Play Layer | Conclusion
Urban play has the potential to overcome barriers among people and to entice interaction and engagement between citizens, leading to a social activation of the city.
Rennen Zunder1This document is an attempt to dig deeply into the physical properties that enable movement play. Above that level of detail, the process for implementation is relatively simple. First, understand which elements of a given site and master plan lend themselves to movement play. Identifying changes in grade, paths, railings, and edges help establish the raw materials to build a playful space. These elements exist at multiple scales – from the circulation through a park to the walking routes in a neighborhood. Once these possibilities are identified, the lowest hanging fruit is about simply getting out of the way. Think of this as the opposite of bolt-on skate stoppers. Use strong, durable materials and avoid surfaces that interfere with movement types that might otherwise thrive.
Next, consider how these playful opportunities could be enhanced with small changes. Could a path be made more dynamic with a gentle roller or a wall be reinforced for grinding? Consider how changes in one part of the site might draw active users away from another area meant to be more quiet and peaceful.
The final step is to imagine how these playful opportunities can be “advertised” to reinforce a site’s playful identity and bring in new users. Consider colors, patterns, and integrating more traditional play structures like embankment slides into unexpected areas.
Perhaps of even more importance than any of these physical interventions is the normalization of play in public. The climbing, jumping, and rolling that people enjoy as kids and still enjoy in nature as adults is a key to enjoying our cities more. So go play! Jump your bike off a curb, slide down a hand railing, and swing on the lamp-posts!
