Louis, Ari and Toby Hitches have a mighty vision for their local playground, illustrated with LEGO for World Play Day. Photo: Region.
What might your local playground look like if the neighbourhood youngsters were given free rein on a redesign?
Ziplines, gumball machines, climbing walls and a dedicated “drift-style dodgems” arena might feature, if it were up to one trio of Illawarra siblings.
The creativity of Hitches brothers Toby (11), Ari and Louis (7) was unleashed in the lead-up to World Play Day — LEGO Group’s celebration of the UN’s International Day of Play.
The boys dreamed big on a redesign of Mount Keira’s Koloona Park, each tapping into block-mastery honed over a years-long LEGO love affair to create three vibrant, quirky and unique concepts for a space all too familiar to them.
“We go to this playground quite a lot. It’s very tired,” mum Lauren Van Ruth says.
“They really enjoyed putting their own creative spin on what they would make if they could redo it … I think they did an awesome job. It would be amazing if some of these ideas could be brought to life.
“We think it’s so important for kids to have places to play, and particularly places outside.”
New research from the LEGO Group has revealed Australian cities are in urgent need of more safe, inclusive and accessible public play spaces, with a growing disconnect between families and the urban communities they live in, resulting in a play deficit in urban areas.
The research revealed four in five Australian parents living in cities do not think their city has been designed with children and play at the forefront.
Nearly two in three say their city does not have safe and accessible play spaces specifically designed for children.
Almost 40 per cent of Aussie kids believe adults designing urban environments don’t consider children’s needs or preferences, 42 per cent believe the streets of their city prioritise cars over people and nearly two thirds of kids feel their cities lack fun and engaging places to play.
The research also uncovered that when kids are given space and time to play, it can boost childhood development, wellbeing and social connections.
Australian architect and Cities for Play founder Natalia Krysiak says the research highlighted the pressing need for decision-makers to place children and families at the heart of urban planning strategies, and prioritise safe and accessible play.
“It’s not just about allocating a space for playgrounds, but designing cities as a network of play opportunities, interconnected with child-friendly travel routes that make play a natural part of everyday life – whether that’s woven into school trips, shopping errands or daily routines with caregivers,” she says.
“When thoughtfully designed, cities can ignite children’s imaginations, nurture their understanding of one another, and foster a shared sense of community identity. There is also an untapped opportunity to co-design with children, who have boundless creativity and incredible ideas to solve problems in unexpected ways.
“It’s imperative that local communities involve children in planning for the future.”
In cities across the world as part of World Play Day, kids teamed up with LEGO to share their ideas.
Among things they wanted to see more of were big board games and obstacle zones for adults and children to play together, outdoor areas that glow at night, fountains or water features you can play in, spaces to build or create things like art zones or play cafes, interactive walls or murals that you can touch, climb or change, skate parks, bike parks and sensory gardens or nature play areas.
Working over the long weekend on their designs, the Hitches brothers had their own ideas for making their community more playful.
Among their charming blue-sky ideas, twins Louis and Ari were particularly proud of their ziplines, gumball machine and colourful climbing wall, while big brother Toby leaned into some complex equipment.
“We were all a bit stuck on ideas but then they started to come and it just went crazy,” he says.
“My favourite part of my design is this little arena where you can have one buggy or dodgem car that can just drift around … it was very hard to find the pieces for that.
“If this playground were like my playground, I would be here 24/7, every day, for the rest of my life. Everyone on my street would get free popcorn from my popcorn machine and nobody would have to pay to go on the drifters.”
