SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

PLAYGROUND DESIGN / HARLEM

Street Jazz is a landscape design that aims to create Harlem’s first “play street” by creating interactive play opportunities on the sidewalks that celebrate the community’s Jazz heritage. The concept includes installing musical instruments, adding instructional dance steps to the sidewalks, and installing life-sized images of Jazz legends to existing fencing. While some kids play on the instruments, others can learn to dance the Charleston, or gain a moment of fame by taking a “selfie” with a Jazz legend. Jazz involves improvisation and is a creative activity that takes place "in the moment." It is about communicating emotions and spontaneously responding to others in a playful way.

The musical instruments, dance steps, and historical images combine to provide kids with an opportunity to engage in improvisation and spontaneously respond to each other. It is an interactive experience that is fun while also being an opportunity for informal learning. The play street selected is beside the National Jazz Museum of Harlem and directly in front of an open-space green park, allocated for use by children. In addition to regular sidewalk traffic, hundreds of elementary school children visit the museum each year. To make it easy to learn more about Jazz, a QR code will be posted on the fence, beside the Jazz Legends, that will open the “Street Jazz” website where archival footage of jazz musicians, dancers, and singers will be posted. As the kids play on the play street, the sounds will be recorded and local Jazz musicians will remix it, adding in their own sounds. The resulting music will be shared with members of the community via the “Street Jazz” website and sold via download and/or in the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. The funds will be used to provide music and dance scholarships to kids in the community. (Finalist, Kaboom, Play Everywhere Challenge)