Designing child-friendly public events

Case Studies

Overview

Medellin’s Park of Desires (Parque de los Deseos), Colombia, is a public space that focuses on providing a range of free cultural activities and events that are child-friendly. The park’s goal is to create a sense of community among local residents by providing them with an accessible public space where they can participate in various activities. The park offers outdoor film screenings, concerts, themed tours, recreational activities, exhibitions, talks, aerobics and thematic workshops on science, the environment, and public services. The park is flexible and caters for a variety of social groups. On Fridays, it is usually filled with students from the nearby University of Antioquia, while on Sundays, there are more families and children who come to enjoy the 7pm free screenings of child-friendly films.

Location:
Medellin, Colombia

Organisation:
EPM Foundation

Beneficiary:
Whole community

Scale of proximity:
City

Built environment component:
Public space, Park

Design insights

Spatial/physical:
Flat surfaces and pavements have a moderate slope to encourage sitting and buildings are used as locations for music shows and film screenings.

Function:
The park contains the Casa de la Música – a meeting place for artists and musicians, incorporating creative space into the community and promoting its growth.

Site location:
Within walking distance are Medellin’s planetarium, the botanic gardens and the interactive science museum, Parque Explora. The park is also accessible via the city Metro and its feeder routes, making it a connected and celebratory landmark for the city.

Implementation insights

Park of Desires demonstrates that multi-functional public space can engage a variety of social groups. Designing for childhood development does not mean designing exclusive places for children, but for the broader community.