Oyunu Parkın Ötesinde Tasarlamak: Kapsayıcı Kentsel Altyapı Olarak Modüler Sistemler
Include 26, London, İngiltere, 9 - 11 Eylül 2026, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: London
- Basıldığı Ülke: İngiltere
- İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Urban playgrounds’ fixed locations, standardized equipment, and compliance-driven safety logics frequently exclude children whose bodies, sensory profiles, or socio-economic conditions fall outside normative assumptions. For children living in the city’s dense, underserved districts, the “right to play” remains unevenly distributed. Recent urban policy initiatives have consequently begun to move beyond conventional playground provision towards a broader understanding of the playable city, emphasizing diverse opportunities for play and physical activity across public space (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, 2019). This paper reframes modular playground systems not simply as spatial interventions, but as instruments of inclusive design capable of responding to intersectional vulnerability across ability, gender, and class. It asks how modular playground systems can operationalize inclusive design across the fluctuating conditions of dense urban districts.
Drawing on a multi-sited ethnography conducted across neighborhoods with limited permanent play infrastructure, the research integrates observational mapping and behavioral shadowing to document how children with varying mobility levels and sensory sensitivities engage with playground components, surfaces, and layouts. A co-design phase forms a central component of the methodology. Temporary installations were iteratively modified through participatory workshops with children, caregivers, and local facilitators. Children were invited to rearrange modular elements, propose surface adaptations, and identify perceived barriers to participation.
The research is situated within an ongoing collaboration between a metropolitan municipality, an urban design company, and a university research team. This partnership enabled the translation of inclusive design research into pilot implementations within public spaces. The municipality provided access to neighborhoods, logistical coordination, and co-design facilitation; the urban design company developed modular components, prototyping strategies, and on-site adaptations; and the university team led ethnographic research and evaluation. The collaboration functioned as an iterative platform in which design decisions were continuously negotiated among public authorities, industry actors, researchers, and community members.
Preliminary findings suggest that modular systems expand the temporal and spatial reach of inclusive play by reducing infrastructural rigidity. However, inclusion is not automatic: sustained accessibility depends on maintenance practices. The study therefore argues that inclusive design must extend beyond permanent installations toward adaptive, mobile infrastructures that can respond to fluctuating urban conditions.
While grounded in the policy context of one metropolitan area, the framework offers transferable insights for other high-density cities facing similar infrastructural constraints. By coupling modular material systems with co-design methodologies and an intersectional disability lens, the paper positions mobile playgrounds as replicable tools for advancing inclusive urban futures beyond fixed park boundaries.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (2019) Istanbul Play Master Plan. Istanbul: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Parks, Gardens and Green Areas Department.