May 17, 2024 // Public Space Design for an Anxious Gen Alpha
Bredäng Park in Stockholm, a park designed for and in collaboration with teenage girls, led by Niva. Photo by Robin Hayes.
Let’s talk about public space design for an anxious Gen Alpha.
I just finished reading Jonathan Haidt’s new bestseller, The Anxious Generation. In addition to feeling so terrified by the documented effects of social media that I deleted every app on my phone besides email, I was also taken by his nod to public space.
Jonathan describes in great details what schools, government, parents, and tech companies can do to foster healthier childhoods for kids in the face of inundating technology. But he also describes how well-designed public space can give parents reassurance that their babies will be fine to play outside on their own — a critical component of their development.
Firms around the world are offering insights and design solutions to address just this. Arup, who published the Cities Alive: Designing for Urban Childhoods study in 2017, executes on their wisdom through projects like a community greenway in Belfast, a child-friendly waterfront park in Long Island City, and child-centered resilience building in informal settlements in Salvador, Brazil. Arup is in good company with Make Space for Girls, Global Designing Cities Initiative and the city of Philadelphia.
How would you like to see public spaces improve for children? Any killer responses will be featured in the next newsletter!
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MUST-READS
What Not to Miss at ICFF 2024 // Metropolis
Gen Z Gives Surprising Boost to Some Hotels // Skift
There’s already a big winner in the 2024 housing market: homebuilders // FastCompany
You Can Now Build Your Very Own Frank Lloyd Wright House // WSJ
Gucci filled Tate Modern’s Tanks with thousands of plants // Wallpaper
New York City Nabs Stretch of Brooklyn Coastline to Redevelop // Bloomberg CityLab
All-Access Art: What Makes an Inclusive Museum? // Urban Omnibus
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IDEA SPOTLIGHT
Gantri | Easy Install Pendants
San Fransisco-based Gantri, an innovative lighting company known for work-from-home task lights and 3D-printed fixtures, is introducing a new line of (relatively) easy to install pendants. This new line will be launched at ICFF next week, and hopes to bring good lighting to all, including those who don’t have an intimate relationship with electrical wires.
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