By Playful Esplugues
When Esplugues de Llobregat joined the European transfer network The Playful Paradigm, it chose the creation of a mobile toy library, or Ludobus as it is known within the network, to help transform the city through play and promote inclusion, social cohesion, healthy habits and sustainability. Esplujuga, the mobile toy library, was inspired by the experiences of Udine, the leading city of the project. It took shape through a participatory process in which the suggestions of local stakeholders, the Urbact Local Group (ULG), were collected. Finally, it was tested in a school in Esplugues before setting it up in other spaces.
OBJECTIVE: TRANSFORM THE CITY
Esplugues de Llobregat is a neighbour of cosmopolitan Barcelona, it has more than 560,000 m2 of parks and gardens to enjoy different outdoor activities. The ratio is 12.27 m2 per inhabitant in inner urban areas, two points above the 10 m2 / inhabitant recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). If we add the Collserola Natural Park, one of the largest metropolitan parks in the world, we speak of 28.07 m2 / inhabitant. These spaces are vital for the daily socialisation of the inhabitants. However, a lack of intergenerational interaction derived in growing fragmentation of spaces is clearly appreciated in public spaces.
This was one of the initial challenges that Esplugues face up when it joined The Playful Paradigm network in 2019, which started with the objective to incorporate four of the Udine good practice actions: involving schools in playing activities, an annual program of games events and activities and, finally the Ludobus Initiave.
The pandemic forced the project to adapt to the health, economic and social crisis that had significantly affected people's lives. To incorporate playing in this context appeared an innovative opportunity to address these crises the Ludobus became a fundamental tool to make Esplugues a more playful city.
As the Mayor of Esplugues, Pilar Díaz, explains “Esplujuga, our mobile toy library, is designed to overcome barriers and end the beliefs that, perhaps, made us stop playing one day. It is an invitation that arrives on wheels to share, imagine and look at the problems from another point of view. Game for all ages and in every corner of the city. Who could resist this invitation?”
UDINE'S INSPIRATION
Having embedded a form of best practice in Udine, the local technical team has been able to share different initiatives and projects with other partner cities. The Ludobus of Udine experience showed how play transforms spaces and people, as well as being a source of inspiration for the Esplujuga in Esplugues.
The Udine model, integrated into a broader network, embody an excellent case of how to involve the third sector and add them to the project, types of games that favor intergenerational relationships, materials best suited to sustainability goals and creativity, as well as how to energize sessions that favor free and respectful play.
According to Paolo Munini, Director of gaming activities for the municipality of Udine in an interview given to Urbact, “Games are essential for child development. Games are also important for older people because they maintain physical and cognitive activity and prevent mental cognitive impairment… Games can be used to work in deprived neighborhoods with the local community or in schools with students. They can trigger the participation of civil society, involving citizens and local associations”.
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN
One of the hallmarks of the Ludobus, is the participatory process that has made it a reality. Lluís Just, director of technological innovation of the City Council and head of Playful Esplugues, considers that “The process of shape the Ludobus as could not be otherwise, was participatory. Involving local stakeholders in the definition and creation process, helps us to deploy these city initiatives, with a better predisposition and a better commitment and involvement of all the participating agents”.
In October 2019, social entities, public schools and the municipal technical team that set up the Urbact Local Group, joined a creative and collaborative session to design the future mobile toy library of Esplugues. More precisely, the session was done "playing" with Lego pieces to decide what types of games the Ludobus should incorporate, mapping the city to identify the most suitable spaces and creating possible logos. The methodology proposed that the spaces must be accessible, with inclusive games that consider the needs of people with reduced mobility, visual, auditory, cognitive and relational difficulties. The requirement was that the games be made of wood, where possible, or from recycled materials and, above all, that it promoted interaction between people, facilitating coexistence between groups.
The mobile toy library must be a free space open to the public. For the dissemination, it was proposed to publish the activities on the Playful Esplugues website, created to centralize and publicize all the events and news related to play in the city. These activities are also usually shared on municipal social media sites and social networks.
The different parks and squares were chosen in order to reach all the neighbourhoods of the city. It was also considered important to propose a variety of times and days to allow more people to enjoy the project.
The name of the Ludobus was decided through a popular vote on the Esplugues Participa platform. The result was Esplujuga.
ON THE ROAD DESPITE THE PANDEMIC
The cessation of face-to-face activities as a result of the pandemic was a fact in all European cities and Esplugues was no exception.
The situation delayed the launch of Esplujuga. Although the team behind Playful had already adapted several of its activities, parties and training to the virtual format, the nature of Esplujuga required a face-to-face space for the magic to happen.
Due to the prolongation of the situation, it was proposed to test the Esplujuga in a safe and controlled place such as a school, where the students were already divided into stable groups, called `bubbles´. In December 2020, the pilot test was launched at the Lola Anglada School (an active member of the ULG). Students aged between 3 and 12 years could participate in play spaces adapted to the different age groups; from symbolic and psychomotor games to traditional games, construction and board games, among others.
The activity was very well received by the students and the teaching team.
Karol Burillo, head of studies at the Lola Anglada school, valued the experience very positively stating, “The game proposals were very appropriate for the different ages, well thought out and well presented. The materials were perfect, lots of unstructured materials and most of them made with natural elements, totally following the school line”.
The experience was recorded on video to share the philosophy of the project and inspire other teams.
Although the idea is to be able to take Esplujuga to public spaces open to all inhabitants, currently the epidemiological situation does not allow it. Hence, Esplujuga is expected to continue touring the city's schools until the situation allows it to reach parks, squares and streets of Esplugues.
And we keep playing ...
By Playful Esplugues
