We teamed up with Common Works, Katherine Dauncey of Stamp and Better Bankside to design a boardgame-like framework to enable local people to stitch play into their own neighbourhoods. 

Rather than treating play as an isolated, one-off intervention, PLAY-WAYS is a replicable process that guides communities from first idea to built transformation. We used Southwark, home of Makower Architects, as a testing ground but PLAY-WAYS can be adapted for any neighbourhood.

Rules of the Game:

Step 1: Invites communities to map their area through playful engagement: recording everyday moments, sharing memories, and reimagining overlooked corners. Using simple tools — chalked games, homemade devices, imaginative prompts — neighbours of all ages identify routes and spaces where play can naturally connect homes to schools, parks, high streets and existing public realm.

Step 2: Equips communities with strategies to turn ideas into deliverable change. The toolkit demystifies highways approvals, planning policy and risk assessments, offering templates, guidance and tested tactics that help navigate regulation and unlock funding. Co-design principles ensure proposals balance safety, maintenance and neighbourliness while retaining delight and spontaneity.

Step 3: Focuses on activation: practical pathways for working with councils, contractors and local groups to implement interventions, from temporary play installations to permanent spatial changes, before handing stewardship back to the community.

PLAY-WAYS is designed to provide people with the confidence, language and mechanisms to reclaim streets and shared spaces  — embedding safe, intergenerational play into the everyday fabric of home and neighbourhood life. It was a competition entry for the Davidson Prize.