Playcation - A city adapted to children and youths

Playcation, run by the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) in Brussels, Belgium, reclaims public space for children and young people across the city. The programme is built on the concept of free play – where the child decides what to do, in environments that offer variety, discovery and the chance to take risks. Through an open call for projects, anyone with an idea – community organizations and individuals alike – can propose a free, registration-free play space, with a focus on Brussels’ areas where social challenges are most concentrated.

Brussels is a young, hyper-diverse city: one in four inhabitants is under 30, and 186 nationalities are represented. Unequal access to green and open space shapes daily life for many children. Playcation grew out of a simple ambition: a city where a parent can tell their 8-year-old to “go out and play on the streets,” and where teenagers — especially girls — feel free to gather, meet and just hang out in public space.

Selected Playcation projects range widely – from micro-interventions like a climbing parkour on a church wall to entire adult-free zones where children build with branches, use tools, take risks and explore. All are free of charge and focus on children and young people in vulnerable situations, for whom public space is their backyard. In 2025, 17 projects were selected across 31 locations, with a total budget of €250,000, reaching more than 3,000 children. A jury of experts and a youth representative selects projects; in 2025, a children’s jury of 80 children from five schools also advised on the choice.

Five years in, two lessons stand out. Location matters: spaces must be safe from traffic, with strong social control and visibility, and equipped with basic facilities – shelter, seating, toilets and drinking water – especially when they are not in a child’s own street. Familiar, meaningful locations work best. Ownership matters just as much: a project supported by the neighbourhood is already halfway to success. Strong local partners, clear responsibility for each space, and ongoing care for installations are essential, particularly in neighbourhoods facing broader social challenges where some supervision is needed to keep children safe.

Recent qualitative research with 40 children revealed that 65% of active participants were boys, while 65% of children present but not actively playing were girls – echoing wider evidence that, from around age 9, girls tend to disappear from public space. In response, Playcation 2026 focuses specifically on teenage girls and on inclusive hangout spaces for youth more broadly. Five years into its journey, Playcation is steadily transforming Brussels – temporarily and sometimes permanently – into a more child- and youth-friendly city.

Learn more: www.playcation.brussels