Solarpunk designs should include children and teenagers too
Created by /u/joan_de_art on Reddit.
Created by /u/joan_de_art on Reddit.
The artist forgot the most important label for the feature that, if missing, renders all the other features moot: streets safe for people (including children) to traverse outside of cars.
It's shown, but it should've been labeled too -- and in bigger text than everything else.
Conversely, I feel like this has become such a common understanding that it doesn't require mention.
There is a really nice playground there that doesn't need a label, because everyone knows what a playground is. There is a fence around the playground so kids don't run into traffic. You don't need to label a fence. Everyone knows what fences are for. There are trees all around. The artist doesn't really need to point out all the ways that trees are beneficial. The sky isn't full of car exhaust, and there are no oil pumps next to homes, schools, and playgrounds (a serious problem in Los Angeles in particular). None of these things need specifically described, because they're basic assumptions in this context.
Conversely, I feel like this has become such a common understanding that it doesn’t require mention.
Go ride a bike in any typical North American suburb and you'll be disabused of that misconception real quick.
There is a fence around the playground so kids don’t run into traffic.
🤦
So what you're saying is, you really don't get it after all. With a properly-designed city, the playground wouldn't need a fence for that reason in the first place!
We can have different takes. It's cool.
But I do need to insist on this: no... a fence is actually still really nice to have even without vehicle traffic.
Speaking as a parent and among parents, fenced parks a really nice even in car-free areas. I've been to a lot of playgrounds, many far from roads. Even if the nearby paths are for people and bikes, fences let parents relax and chat and give toddlers more freedom to run without the risk of them wandering too far. They are also a reassurance to people on bikes/scooters/skateboards who are passing by, who get stressed that a toddler might chase a ball or another kid into the path unexpectedly.
If anyone is designing a park, please include a nice little fence (thanks).
Something I'd note is that the separation of "children" and "adults" is a pathology of current society. We sort of need it for a number of reasons, but one of those is that we routinely exploit adults, and a while back, the western world decided not to do that for children. This has caused a social disconnect between the hobbies of children and the hobbies of adults, but even in recent modernity, there was no such divide. I think it's good to think of third places overall, rather than being "for" specific audiences. Everyone is part of society, so third places are for everyone.
In any functioning society, the children live communist lives. Free food, free housing, free education, free medicine. The primary job of children is to educate themselves and become well rounded individuals.
A lot of people also think that childhood was the last time they had safety and freedom. Look at the popularity of high school settings in Japanese media. This is because adulthood in Japan is capitalist and therefore garbage. Japanese people have a much easier time believing a character can have a fun and interesting life if they live under communism.
Also read recently that people in the US don't think of a particular year group (eg: 1950, 1970s) as being "the best" but a particular age. That is, everyone wants to return to an age where they were basically early - mid teenagers.
I largely agree but I think you are missing a key point here which is that most minors have little to no decision-making power in their own lives and in society. A direct consequence of this is that their needs often go unconsidered and unmet.
A classic example of this is car-centric design. Most people just don’t think about how difficult it is to get around without a car, and even when confronted by this, they will flippantly reply that everyone should just buy one. But children aren’t allowed to drive, and in a neighborhood where you have to drive to go anywhere, children are practically prisoners in their own homes.
For this reason, I think it’s important to call out the needs of young people explicitly, even though many of these needs overlap with those of adults. I think in a solarpunk society they will be empowered to speak for themselves more vocally but until such time it helps to speak for them.
Yes, actually this is what I'm trying to say. Young people become an underclass and we disconnect from them, and this includes their rights. Thanks for making it explicit, but yeah one of the things I'm saying is that we ought to really consider the cases when children have to forego certain rights, and connect that to community so they effectively get those rights back, a sort of liberty through pedagogy / the "informed" part of informed consent.
That's a pretty weird batch of random things that are positive, but not necessarily well laid out.
Like, as art, it's decent. A little obvious and over-done, but decent.
As a representation of a realistic goal, it's kinda weird lol. Not bad, unless you wanted to pretend it was meant to be a plan, just a little strange as to what is there and what isn't
I'm curious what you'd improve, speaking constructively.
If I were trying to improve this, I'd probably have more of a dedicated bike parking space, with some shelter. And I might make the spaces between the features into wider, more distinct pathways.
But as for layout, I'm not really sure what you're talking about. A playground next to a pool, across the street from a skatepark and sports field next with a food court and picnic table area seems like pretty sensible urban design.
I love that, because I think that role play, storytelling, live theater, and live musical performance are natural outgrowths of a world with less commodification, more leisure time, more community connection, and less social pressure to enforce conformity.
An amphitheatre, perhaps then. A dedicated larp space tickles my funny bone for some reason.
I think an amphitheater is good too, but I like when spaces aren't all too general.
I think it makes sense to have this as a dedicated space. It's kind of like a paintball arena, but for melee combat. And I think most LARPers would agree: it can be surprisingly difficult to find good areas to practice and hold LARPs! Dedicated infrastructure would be amazing.
While I understand your point of view, the thing with effective use of space is that good spaced are multi-functional. A park can be a picnic area, an improvised sports field, or even a wedding location. A larp arena can only be a larp arena. Further, the amount of people that larp are relatively small. I'm not trying to poo poo the community - it exists, and I'm sure it's vibrant and growing, but it's not mainstream yet.
Okay. You're welcome to that take. I for one think that LARPing would be extremely popular in the context pictured here.
¯\_༼ᴼل͜ᴼ༽_/¯ one of those agree to disagree things I guess. Still, thanks for the conversation.
I have never in my entire life met a boy who didn't at some age want to play castles and swords. And I think if adults were a bit more open minded, 99% of girls would want to join in too.
You're right. I'm missing the point of the post. A larp arena actually would be great for kids, and if it was geared towards their enjoyment could be used for other things, like interactive story telling/theater stages
Excuse me, it's called a flail.
(Also, while there are larp-safe flails, the 'chain' on those is short enough not to wrap around any limbs, because that can create hazards, so the one depicted here is unsafe)
Shedding some light on the youth needs to done more often. Not only should there be more people friendly urban designs, but a greater mention of youth rights.
Agreed.
It's amazing how becoming a parent has made me aware of the ways in which our society is a whole bunch of societies overlaid. The life experience of children, teens, and families is surprisingly distinct from that of young adults. There are so many ways that things can contribute to or impede young peoples' ability to find and use their own agency.
Here is a great success story: this will be the first year in which 16 and 17 year olds are eligible to vote in school board elections in my school district. Think about it: for the first time, STUDENTS are finally constituents that board candidates must court. I think that's awesome: https://oaklandside.org/2024/08/08/oakland-berkeley-youth-vote-school-board/