A Playful City

Exploring how to create a city that meets the needs of children and young people.

Join architect Dinah Bornat of ZCD Architects for an exploration into her recent book ‘All to Play For: How to design child-friendly housing’. Dinah will be joined by Professors Rosie Parnell and Alison Stenning of Newcastle University as we question how we can create a city that meets the needs of children and young people.

Speakers

Dinah Bornat is co-founder of ZCD Architects, a research-led practice based in London who work on residential, community and commercial projects. She is a leading expert on child friendly housing design, Dinah will be speaking on her recent book ‘All to Play for’, published with the RIBA in 2025.

Dinah has written for a number of publications and recently advised the government as part of a select committee inquiry into children and the built environment.

Professor Rosie Parnell from the School of Architecture Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University; Rosie’s research, teaching and practice combines an interest in children and architecture, exploring how design processes and co-design can be implemented within a built environment education.

Alison Stenning  is a Professor of Social and Economic Geography at Newcastle University. Her current research is focused around how “playing out” shapes residents’ attachments, material and emotional, to their streets and the people on them, and how play has the potential to challenge the erosion of relationships in everyday places.

Image credit: ‘All to Play For’: How to Design Child-friendly Housing‘, Dinah Bornat