RESIDENCIES & POP-UPS

At play:groundNYC, we believe that play shouldn’t be limited to playgrounds and that a city where children can play, create, and explore is a better city for all. Our play residencies put children and play at the heart of urban design by giving young people the opportunity to take over a public space, such as an Open Street, plaza, or park, and to use their imaginations to build and create with other young people.

Our playworkers are onsite to support children’s play and provide all materials (usually reclaimed from the waste stream), including cardboard boxes, fabric, markers, string, tape, costumes, crates, and more. Residencies take place outside and encourage playing, solving, building, drawing, folding, shaping, stacking, laughing, and creating.

GET IN TOUCH about play in your neighborhood

Develop a play residency

Bringing play to your community can help children develop a sense of belonging and better health outcomes. Invest in the potential of your neighborhood’s public space by putting children at the center of the urban environment: get in touch to develop a play residency today.

OR START your own pop-up!

If you'd like to learn more about playwork and developing a 2-hour pop-up in your own neighborhood, we're here to help. We’ve partnered with Pop-Up Adventure Play, The Lego Foundation, and ChangeX to develop a toolkit, which can be found here. Thanks for joining us!

“The team was amazing! I was amazed at what the playworkers had created with the cardboard and how much fun the kids were having crawling through the cardboard tunnels. The whole area was turned into this colorful cardboard fantasy. Thank you so much!”

— Roslyn, Loisaida Festival