Play in Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau
Auckland Council provides opportunities for play by building and maintaining playgrounds across the region, delivering play events and activations in the 56 Auckland Council Libraries and through the Out and About Auckland activation programme, and creating playful moments through placemaking, and at regional sites such as Auckland Zoo and Auckland Art Gallery. Local boards often support community organisations that provide for play, through their grant-making processes.
The play advocacy approach seeks to further expand this mahi by promoting play as an ‘everywhere activity’, recognising and celebrating the rights of tamariki to feel welcomed and encouraged to enjoy all public spaces in their city. This involves ‘putting a play lens’ on council projects. For example, how can a town centre upgrade include opportunities for playfulness? How can a festival or event include a play component? How can a park without a playground be activated as a playful space? By incorporating opportunities like this into council projects, we can work towards a vision of Tāmaki Makaurau as a playful city!
Play Streets Are Here!
We’re thrilled to announce that Play Streets are arriving in Tāmaki Makaurau! This simple idea transforms ordinary residential streets into safe, welcoming spaces for play and connection.
We believe play should happen everywhere children spend time, including their own streets. Street play offers something unique: kids of different ages playing together, neighbours meeting and building trust, and communities growing stronger. A street where children are welcome to play is also a street where people know each other, reducing isolation and creating resilience for everyone.
Our 2021 pilot, part of Waka Kotahi’s Innovating Streets for People initiative, showed that Play Streets increase children’s access to play and strengthen communities, without the need for costly, complicated event permits or traffic management plans. In 2022, Auckland Council approved guidance to enable community-led Play Street events in suitable residential streets. This isn’t about closing busy roads or commercial streets, it’s about creating safe, local spaces for play that bring people together and make neighbourhoods stronger.
What Is a Play Street?
For 2–3 daylight hours, traffic on your street is temporarily restricted, giving local kids the freedom to play safely. Families and neighbours can connect, kids can enjoy traffic-free outdoor play, and your neighbourhood becomes a more vibrant, friendly place.
Play Streets can also make drivers more careful. They can access the street during the Play Street event, but they have do so slowly, escorted at walking speed. Play Streets remind everyone that streets are shared spaces, not just for cars but for people, too. Drivers on a Play Street – particularly residents – tend to be more aware of pedestrians on the street even when a Play Street event is not being held.
To keep things safe and simple, Play Streets work best in:
-
Quiet residential streets or cul-de-sacs
-
Streets without shops, bus stops, or heavy traffic
-
Places where neighbours are likely to support the idea
-
Locations where at least two households are willing to take the lead and help organise
Play Streets are not intended to be big community events, so we don’t recommend that organisers promote them on Facebook community pages – they’re for the residents of the street to come together and have fun.
Want to Host a Play Street?
Get in touch! We can help you with information to share with your neighbours, and support you through the process of setting up and managing your Play Street.
