Gerben Helleman
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gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
Gerben Helleman
@gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
190 followers 210 following 870 posts
Posts about the connections between the Planned and the Lived City #playfriendlycities #childfriendlycities #publicspace #cities #outdoorplay #play #childhood #geographer #playspaces #childrensgeographies #urbanism #urbanplanning #citylife #citiesforpeople
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gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
Gerben Helleman @gerbenhelleman.bsky.social · Dec 30
Let’s make more #childfriendly and #playfriendly districts! This model will give you guidance and inspiration. With 💯measures for stimulating active free play in #cities around the world:
urbanspringtime.blogspot.com/playablecities
#publicspaces #outdoorplay #kids #childfriendlycities #playspaces
Children's daily lives are affected mostly by decisions made by parents, teachers and urban planners. Together they influence where, how and how long children play. In recent years, children's outdoor play has declined. For health and pedagogical reasons, it is important that we stimulate outdoor playing. To realize this we need a new approach on public spaces for kids. This approach doesn't start with picking some elements from catalogues of play equipment companies or landscape architects. We should start at the other end by taking into account the bigger picture: the purpose (WHY) and the conditions (HOW) to realize playable cities. Only then, do we know which actions (WHAT) have to be carried out. The purpose is to stimulate outside playing, because it improves the health of kids, enriches their skills and most of all it gives them pleasure (WHY). These higher goals can only be achieved when the right conditions are created (HOW). For example public spaces should be accessible, attractive, challenging, divers and inviting. The different actions and efforts (WHAT) such as design, programming and ordering equipment are a result of these sub goals and not the other way around. In total, I come to 100 measures. Examples of these actions are broad sidewalks, climbing structures, greenery, ground markings, shared spaces and bike racks for kids. The moral of this story: if we want to realize playable cities we have to consider these three aspects (WHY, HOW, WHAT) continuously and collectively.
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
placemakingx.bsky.social
"Public spaces that actively include people are an antidote to politics that exclude people." @ethankent.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/pulse/progre...
Progress In the Places People Love Will Persevere
How MAGA Could Be Helping to Bring About the Future They Most Fear(But Shouldn’t) America’s story of progress has been driven by people and places building each-other up. That progress, though under a...
www.linkedin.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
sflkirk.bsky.social
Cars versus kids: How resistance to change limits children’s right to the city (hint - it's #CarBrain): theconversation.com/cars-versus-... 1/2
Cars versus kids: How resistance to change limits children’s right to the city
Through a long history of prioritizing cars in our cities, we have normalized not seeing or hearing children on our streets.
theconversation.com
September 28, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
activewestminster.bsky.social
Car Free Day brought new energy to @citywestminster.bsky.social streets 🌍✨

Families celebrated the launch of Play Streets with traffic-free play, cycling & community fun.

Check out what happened & learn how to join the movement 👇
zurl.co/jafbD

#ActiveWestminster #CarFreeDay #PlayStreets
September 25, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
outdoorplayca.bsky.social
🎉 It’s here 🎉

The 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play is officially live!

Packed with new insights, sector-specific recommendations, and grounded in 9 key themes, this updated Statement is your go-to guide for supporting active outdoor play for all! 🌿

www.outdoorplaycanada.ca/aop10/
September 25, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
ioe.bsky.social
"The power of play." 🛝⚽️ New research emphasises the importance of designing outdoor play spaces in cities to create community ties and nurture child development.

– from IOE, @uclengineering.bsky.social & @bihr.bsky.social
www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/sep/...
Space for play is being ‘designed-out’ of urban childhoods 
Children growing up in British cities face barriers to safe, playable spaces as financial constraints, policy misalignment and housing pressures cause planners to prioritise property over parks,
www.ucl.ac.uk
September 17, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
sociallifeproject.bsky.social
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

Revisiting the newly restored classic film by William H. Whyte
www.sociallifeproject.org/the-social-l...

@anthologyfilm.bsky.social @placemakingx.bsky.social @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social

#Placemaking #PublicSpace #Urbanism #WilliamHWhyte
September 9, 2025 at 2:14 AM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
Enjoying #publicspace with friends.
#Waterfront #TheHague #streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#humansofbluesky
#urbanism
#landscape #design
September 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
streetartutopia.com
"A mural of the Statue of Liberty in shame" by JDL Street Ar in Lille , Roubaix France 🇫🇷
Mural by JDL Street Art in Roubaix, Lille, France, depicting the Statue of Liberty covering her face with both hands in a gesture of shame. The figure is painted in shades of grey with teal accents on the torch and crown, set against a muted background with a golden halo-like circle. The artwork spans the side of a tall brick building, contrasting modern street art with historic European architecture in the surrounding cityscape.
August 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
qagggy.bsky.social
Is it possible that…urbanism is a winning strategy in cities?
August 28, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
emmet.quiddity.ie
"The kids get to play out and they haven't got cars interfering with them, and everybody gets to have a good time … People also get to meet each other, neighbours you've probably not spoke to and it's good for the community."

PLAY STREETS:

GOOD FOR KIDS, GOOD FOR COMMUNITIES

👊
August 24, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
jaapmodder.bsky.social
My #picoftheday
August 21, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
visionzerovancouver.ca
It was awesome collaborating with @tomflood.bsky.social on this project. So cool to see this up!
Billboard reads: Smoking tables next to non-smoking tables used to be normal too. Join us in fighting for safe streets. The vision Zero logo and Rovelo Creative are listed below. On the right, a photo of a young child riding a bike on the shoulder of a road next to a very large truck.
August 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
And suddenly the market square in #Delft (The Netherlands) becomes an open-air cinema...
#placemaking #publicspace
#urbanphotography #streetphotography #cinema
August 19, 2025 at 7:27 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
This is the 'Gelbe Affe' (Yellow Monkey) in #Düsseldorf, #Germany. This #mural was created in 2012 by the Majo Brothers, an artistic duo consisting of Marc and Joe Hennig.
#streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#urbanart #streetart
#graffiti #Deutschland
August 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
With a little imagination you can sit anywhere and enjoy your drink and each other.
📍 #Innsbruck, Austria
#streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#humansofbluesky
#publicspace
#urbanism
#placemaking
#Österreich
August 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
#Paris, the City of Love❤️, City of Lights💡, Capital of Fashion👗, City of Art🎨, but in my opinion also the City of #Publicspace🌳. What a wonderful city to sit, relax, stroll, and play guitar...
(🧵1/3)
#streetphotography
#humansofbluesky
@ppsplacemaking.bsky.social
@sociallifeproject.bsky.social
August 15, 2025 at 3:56 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
"Children play anywhere and everywhere" is a famous quote from Colin Ward (1978). An observation that still applies.
#childfriendly #play #children #library #slide #humansofbluesky
August 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
modacitylife.com
Inaugurated at the world’s first “Swimmable Cities” summit in May, Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven—once an industrial port on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas River—is now a designated (free) public swimming area complete with a floating pontoon park; the only legal place to swim outdoors in the city centre.
Photographs of an outdoor floating park and swimming area on the banks of the Maas River in the city centre of Rotterdam. Photographs of an outdoor floating park and swimming area on the banks of the Maas River in the city centre of Rotterdam. Photographs of an outdoor floating park and swimming area on the banks of the Maas River in the city centre of Rotterdam. Photographs of an outdoor floating park and swimming area on the banks of the Maas River in the city centre of Rotterdam.
August 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
Risky play is defined as thrilling and exciting activities. It's a type of play where #children test their limits, explore boundaries, and develop valuable skills like risk assessment, problem-solving, and resilience.
#publicspace
#outdoorplay
#riskyplay
August 9, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
tiagodf.bsky.social
"Most of the children in our survey said that they aren’t allowed to be out in public at all without an adult. Fewer than half of the 8- and 9-year-olds have gone down a grocery-store aisle alone; more than a quarter aren’t allowed to play unsupervised even in their own front yard."
What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones
Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world.
www.theatlantic.com
August 4, 2025 at 10:17 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
When there's not enough seating in #publicspace, people look for other places. Preferably somewhere with a backrest (and thus protection from behind), with a view and in the shade (on sunny days). 🧵 (1/3)
#streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#humansofbluesky #urbanism
@sociallifeproject.bsky.social
August 6, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Gerben Helleman
outsideplayubc.bsky.social
"Part of the school’s philosophy is about risk-taking as a fundamental part of creating confidence." Principal Richard Messina | In @novakovicto.bsky.social 's article on the outdoor play space at Toronto's Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study www.designlinesmagazine.com/sara-jackman...
This Innovative Playground Balances Risk and Reward
Sara Jackman Playground announces itself with a colourful medley of interactive elements along the Jackman Institute of Child Study.
www.designlinesmagazine.com
July 30, 2025 at 7:21 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
Science Playground (🧵 1/2):"It has been designed to inspire the imagination and to challenge children physically"
📍Pier 26, #NYC
#publicspace
#placemaking
#playfriendly #play
#streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#humansofbluesky
Photos from the inside in 2nd post.
August 4, 2025 at 9:40 AM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
How do we make cities more #playfriendly? It's a question I've been working on for quite some time. Here's a nice and simple example from #Memmingen in Germany. A marble maze. What examples do you know?
#publicspace #placemaking
#streetphotography #humansofbluesky
August 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
gerbenhelleman.bsky.social
Good public seating should be comfortable, accessible, encourage social interaction, have good sight lines and an interesting view.
📍Pier 26, #NY
#streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#publicspace #placemaking
#NewYork
#humansofbluesky
July 30, 2025 at 4:21 PM