Gerben Helleman

Get outside kids, enjoy the fresh air with your friends!
Just kidding, stay the F inside.

Safer Parks for Women and Girls Safer Parks for Women and Girls

Making parks and similiar public spaces safer and more inclusive for women and girls @makespaceforgirls.bsky.social www.greenflagaward.org/resources/sa...

Adventurous play the new normal as kids take to 'risky' new equipment 'Cliff riders' have sparked concern among some community members, but 20 have been installed across the country in an effort to help children learn through risk-taking.

[Ipswich, Australia:] New playground equipment encourages children to learn through 'risky play' www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Waarom kinderen in de modder mogen spelen: "Een té steriele omgeving is slecht voor het immuunsysteem" | VRT NWS: nieuws Buitenspelen is cruciaal voor het immuunsysteem van jonge kinderen. In aanraking komen met modder, wilde planten en mos heeft positieve effecten op de gezondheid. Dat vertelt Irina Spacova, onderzoeks...

Waarom kinderen in de modder mogen spelen: "Een té steriele omgeving is slecht voor het immuunsysteem"

Buitenspelen is cruciaal voor het immuunsysteem van jonge kinderen. In aanraking komen met modder, wilde planten en mos heeft positieve effecten op de gezondheid.
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...

The resident saw on their security camera that a bear was trying to play on the outdoor swing every day, but was unable to climb in. So they built a bigger swing.

House of Commons Library graphic promoting new research. Search engine bar containing: “Why is the number of children who play outside declining?” Green text boxes: “There’s a Library briefing for that. Get the facts at commonslibrary.parliment.uk” Decorative background image showing two children playing on scooters outside.

Unsupervised outdoor play is proven to benefit children's wellbeing, but research shows that the number of children playing outside is declining.

Find out more with the Commons Library's new briefing on children, young people and the built environment: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Kids need freedom. Dangerous roads make it hard to grant it. Bigger cars, distracted drivers and worried parents mean fewer kids are roaming freely.

The number of children injured or killed by cars while walking or riding a bike has fallen steadily since the 1970s, but CDC researcher note that this decline is not because streets are safer, but because fewer kids are out and about in the first place.

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...

"Public spaces that actively include people are an antidote to politics that exclude people." @ethankent.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/pulse/progre...

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.

Cars versus kids: How resistance to change limits children’s right to the city (hint - it's #CarBrain): theconversation.com/cars-versus-... 1/2

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

🎉 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/

Love this! Great fan of the #streetart of Seth Globepainter. See also: bsky.app/profile/gerb...

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,

"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/...

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

Enjoying #publicspace with friends.
#Waterfront #TheHague #streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#humansofbluesky
#urbanism
#landscape #design

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.

"A mural of the Statue of Liberty in shame" by JDL Street Ar in Lille , Roubaix France 🇫🇷

Is it possible that…urbanism is a winning strategy in cities?

"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

👊

My #picoftheday

It was awesome collaborating with @tomflood.bsky.social on this project. So cool to see this up!

And suddenly the market square in #Delft (The Netherlands) becomes an open-air cinema...
#placemaking #publicspace
#urbanphotography #streetphotography #cinema

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

With a little imagination you can sit anywhere and enjoy your drink and each other.
📍 #Innsbruck, Austria
#streetphotography
#urbanphotography
#humansofbluesky
#publicspace
#urbanism
#placemaking
#Österreich

And if the seating does not fully meet the comfort requirements, you can always help each other... (🧵3/3)
#publicspace #cities #streetphotography #urbanphotography

With water nearby, you are assured of a pleasant view. And good company always helps, of course. (🧵 2/3)
#publicspace #urbanism #placemaking #urbanphotography
#streetphotography

#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

"Children play anywhere and everywhere" is a famous quote from Colin Ward (1978). An observation that still applies.
#childfriendly #play #children #library #slide #humansofbluesky

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.

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.

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

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.

"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."