In recent years, Prague has been moving away from planning public spaces exclusively for adults or very young children and is increasingly taking teenagers into account in a systematic way. The city is responding to this age group with a series of small but well-thought-out initiatives—ranging from safety measures near schools and tactical street modifications to the construction of multi-purpose sports facilities and participatory design projects in which children are given the opportunity to help shape their own neighborhood. Yet this is about more than just playgrounds: the design of public space fundamentally determines whether adolescents will be able to move about independently, safely, and with the awareness that they naturally belong in the city.
A safe way to school as a laboratory
Among the most significant interventions in children’s everyday environment are projects in the vicinity of schools. This is precisely where several different demands on public space converge: children’s safety, pedestrian and bicycle traffic, school transportation, and parking. Prague is therefore testing the concept of “school streets”, where car traffic is restricted at the start of the school day. The goal is not to create another children’s play area, but to change the conditions under which children travel to school. For a short time, the area in front of the school becomes a public space dominated by pedestrian traffic. School streets are already in operation in Prague 7, for example, and are gradually being expanded to other city districts. Their significance extends beyond the morning rush hour: a safer and more pleasant school environment encourages older children to make at least part of their journey on their own.
Prague demonstrates that the entire city can serve as the best playground. It creates spaces where older children can explore on their own, move about, meet others, and decide how to spend their time.
Source: Prague 7, Spot HolešoviceTactical urban planning at the school gate
Even more illustrative is the approach of tactical urban planning, which relies on quick and relatively inexpensive changes. At Grafická Elementary School in Smíchov, the area in front of the school was redesigned using colored asphalt and movable elements. Among other things, this addressed the problem of illegal parking and the need to create a clearer and safer space in front of the school. Similar interventions using “asphalt art” are also being implemented at other schools. In Prague 7, for example, projects were planned or carried out on Rajská, Plynární, and Jablonského streets, while at the Jarov Elementary School, the area directly in front of the school was given a colorful makeover. The students themselves are also involved in the design process.
Tactical urban planning is particularly interesting because of its temporary nature. Instead of lengthy preparations for a permanent renovation, changes can first be tested in real-world conditions to observe how people actually use them.
Source: Pěšky městemSpace to make their own rules
Once they’ve safely crossed the street, older children need a place that doesn’t dictate exactly what they’re supposed to do. Spot Holešovice—the area between Plynární and Vrbenského streets, a short distance from the Holešovice Train Station—embodies this principle of free, undefined elements. Instead of a single, designated area, basketball hoops, a soccer field, a U-ramp, a workout station, a ping-pong table, a punching bag, a trampoline, and an adventure playground—where children build structures themselves using loose materials—all coexist side by side. The space cannot be limited to a single activity: one moment people are playing basketball, then a group moves on to ping-pong, while others remain seated at the tables. Moreover, students from nearby schools—the future users—helped shape its design, which makes it something other than a finished product designed from above.
Spot Holešovice functions as a small urban space without a fixed program. It is the people who come here who ultimately decide how it will be used.
Source: Praha 7Concrete as social infrastructure
Prague’s skateparks follow a similar logic, albeit on a different scale. They’re usually associated mainly with older teenagers, but the latest wave of renovations is aimed at a much broader audience. Both Pražačka in Žižkov and the skatepark in Jinonice opened with a school for absolute beginners, where they can learn the basics without feeling intimidated by advanced skaters. A much larger recreational complex is also in the works in Jižní Město, which, in addition to a skatepark, will offer a pump track, an observation tower, and a legal space for graffiti. What’s important is that these sports facilities aren’t being built on the outskirts of the city, but right in the residential neighborhoods—that is, where older children live and can walk or bike there on their own. The skatepark thus functions as social infrastructure in the truest sense of the word: it requires neither a coach nor a reservation, just a willingness to come and stay.
Sports as part of urban infrastructure. A space for physical activity, street culture, and socializing is set to be created in Jižní Město.
Source: Prague 11Parkour and the city as a space for movement
Parkour creates an even more direct relationship between movement and architecture. Low walls, stairs, changes in terrain, or low structures—which the average user perceives as part of the infrastructure—become elements of a movement route for parkour. Specialized parkour playgrounds are emerging in Prague, for example in Zahradní Město, where the project arose from the participatory program Moje stopa. The idea came from a local family, but the neighborhood residents themselves ultimately decided on its specific design. Also significant here is the way this type of space shapes the perception of the city. Children learn to assess distances, surfaces, elevation changes, and movement possibilities in an environment originally intended for other purposes.
Squares as “third places”
Prague’s squares are also undergoing a similar transformation. Jiřího z Poděbrad Square has been renovated. Prague 1 had misters installed in seven central squares and streets from Újezd to Ovocný trh, thanks to which the stone surfaces here are transformed in the summer into places where people can linger. The lower half of Wenceslas Square has been equipped with a water feature and flat paving without steps or barriers. These are not playgrounds in the traditional sense, but these very squares now function as informal gathering places precisely for the age group that has long since outgrown playgrounds with swings.
Open space creates room for free play, movement, and socializing. Jiřího z Poděbrad Square is thus more than just a place to pass through; it is a space that people can make their own every day in their own way.
Source: IPR Praha | Autor: Jan MalýWilderness within reach
Alongside intensively used urban spaces, nature remains an important part of Prague’s infrastructure. The Hostivař-Záběhlice area offers a forest park, a reservoir, and the Meandry Botiče natural monument. Here, children can combine walking along the trails with biking, observing nature, or exploring their own paths. Nearby is Toulcův dvůr, where—similar to the PRALES complex in Kbely—the forest park is complemented by opportunities to interact with farm animals. Stromovka functions in a similar way. Its significance lies in the variety of environments that come together here: meadows, paths, water, sports fields, an exhibition grounds, and railway infrastructure. For children exploring on their own, this very diversity is more important than a pre-planned program.
A city can not only be used but also “read”. CAMP’s educational programs teach children to perceive architecture, public space, and the way in which we collectively shape the city.
Source: IPR Prague | Author: Jan MalýThe city as the largest playground
The common thread linking all these projects is not architecture itself, but a fundamental shift in thinking about public space. It is no longer conceived as a separate playground for children on one side and a street for adults on the other, but as a single, continuous whole that older children can make their own. For this age group, the question of exactly where to take them may not even apply. Rather, it’s about how much space the city allows them to explore it completely on their own.
