‘Playful Learning’ installations are a fun upgrade and a point of pride in North Philly

Getting your kids outside just got more fun and a whole lot easier for Sharswood and North Central Philadelphia residents with the unveiling of Playful Learning installations at select affordable housing units These new installations range from murals to fully designed play-friendly backyards They re all meant to help children and district members connect with their surroundings and have various fun All installations were created through the work of Live and Learn a Philadelphia pilot project that seeks to add playful and educational installations to affordable housing locations across the city The project was funded by the William Penn Foundation which gave the group a grant to bring their plan to life After two years of work Live and Learn unveiled their Playful Learning installations Wednesday on International Day of Play with a block party in Sharswood The block party showcased the Sharswood installment which featured spinning traffic signs built into the exterior columns of the building s face and a colorful trail of animal footprints painted onto the sidewalk Snuggled between new Sharswood townhomes and existing buildings is a pocket park with homey spots to read any of the books that are free to take from the Little Free Library at the fringe of the park Davis Cuffe Billy Penn At the block party children from the area spun the traffic signs reading playful messages as music played from a table run by organizers who gave out snacks and water to attendees Outside the block party was a Traveling Tree House Bookmobile with an interior decorated to resemble a treehouse and stacked with children s books During the block party face-painted children popped in and out of the bookmobile as they soaked up the features of their new and improved neighborhood An oasis Also unveiled in the Sharswood neighborhood just a block away was an indoor family space for residents within another housing building featuring a refrigerator furniture and a vibrant mural that mapped out Sharswood A minute s walk away was a cozy pocket park nestled in the backyard of Sharswood townhouse and housing unit buildings Decked out with faux logs made into seating a spinning Critter Creator puzzle and a Little Free Library it was a spot that architect Lizzie Rothwell of WRT Design called an oasis The project isn t Rothwell s alone She and other involved members made it a point to gather locality input for Live and Learn s plans In gathering this input Rothwell noted she hoped to ensure the region had a hand in designing the place they would call home and would not feel weary of the construction it required Sometimes construction happens in a way that feels more like it s displacing people Rothwell explained So it takes a moment every time to be clear about who you are what kind of project you re working on and your commitment to building quality While not all of the buildings that outline the pocket park are occupied yet Rothwell who worked in collaboration with other architects and public members to design the installations announced she has already seen a positive response to her project Rothwell says that on the morning it was completed an individual who lived nearby commented that it was great to see and that he would keep an eye on the space Very simple fixes That kind of population connection is exactly what City Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr envisioned when advocating for the installations in the city s Fifth Council District which he represents Young was present at the block party talking with residents and dancing alongside kids as they celebrated These installations are very simple fixes to various of the issues that we have in our communities Young mentioned It helps provide a sense of protection for folks and an educational opportunity for young people where they re playing and don t realize that they re learning Sharswood s indoor mural was painted by Linda Fernandez and Martha O Connel from Amber Art Design and features an I spy challenge for young and old residents alike Davis Cuffe Billy Penn Also within Young s Fifth District though roughly a -minute walk away from Live and Learn s Sharswood location were public murals and a play area built as part of Live and Learn s North Central installation That installation was celebrated with a area dinner held later in the evening also organized by Live and Learn One block party attendee took unique pride in the location Deirdre Hyman a local mural artist led the district last January in painting the murals now part of the installation through her work as a plan coordinator at Tree House Books Hyman believes that the shared pride she feels in the space she helped curate can be a key factor in helping future projects succeed To feel like part of the process it helps people to take pride in where they live Hyman mentioned The North Central location inhabits two Susquehanna Square buildings It is a graphic novel-themed space with an interactive puzzle wall a story wheel and of discipline Hyman s locality mural among other fun nooks Looking to the future Live and Learn collaborators hope that all of Philadelphia can one day have installments similar to the ones at North Central and Sharswood Heidi Segall Levy a project manager at Watchdog Real Estate Project Management who works with Live and Learn hopes to see installments become not just a pleasure but a prerogative There used to be a time when low-income housing with air conditioning was not a requirement Now it s a requirement Segall Levy commented So same thing with playful learning it s not a requirement but we re hoping in the future it will be The post Playful Learning installations are a fun upgrade and a point of pride in North Philly appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY