Abstract
Playgrounds are probably the most visible form of urban play. They reflect ideologies, technologies, politics and economics, as this is the case for all forms of cultural signs. The very fact that playgrounds are often the first association, when the conceptual pair “game” and “city” is mentioned, already indicates a dominant ideology that sees urban space more or less as the opposite of play. In this reading, playgrounds protect people from the dangers of urban space, and conversely, they protect the rationalised functioning of the city from the uncertainties of free play with space.
This proposed paper is based on the interplay between city and playground, traces some lines of development in the ideological appropriation of the playground (e.g. for aesthetic education), introduces technical innovations that can be found on the playground (e.g. climbing contraptions in form of a rocket, a spaceship and a space probe at the Vienna International Garden Show in 1964), deals with the eventful history of understanding playground as preparation for the workaday world, and takes a look at artists’ interpretation of play. The paper will then present current findings from the ongoing research project “Topographies of Viennese Play Cultures” which is an empirical study of urban ludic spaces with a particular focus on issues relating to the reparability of playground equipment in public spaces, issues of safety and standards.
Title of Event
Joint ICOHTEC-SHOT 2024 Annual Meeting
Organisers/Management
International Committee for the History of Technology
,
Society for the History of Technology
