Let's Play! Reimagining Innovation in Public Sports Infrastructure
S.K.M.V. Gunatilleke (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
A.J. Jansen – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
R.A. Price – Mentor (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
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Abstract
Public
sports infrastructure is vital to making sure our cities move. These spaces
form the playgrounds where our children play and the outdoor sporting
facilities we continue to use as adults.
Yet, despite their importance, participation rates among youth are
dropping, and busier lifestyles mean facilities are seeing limited usage.
Various attempts have been made to bring more technology, interactivity, and
innovation to public sports spaces through new equipment and digital
innovations. However, many of these interventions have fallen short. Facilities
remain underutilized, and the gap between what’s provided and what communities
actually need continues to grow.
At the
same time, we’re witnessing exciting shifts: the rise of alternative sports
formats, urban sports becoming more mainstream, and technology becoming ever
more integrated into our sporting lives. This presents a unique opportunity for
genuine innovation. This thesis explores how innovation in Dutch public sports
can be re-imagined to truly involve users and respond to their environments.
Rather than imposing top-down solutions, it draws on design-led approaches and
participatory methods to increase collaboration in building playgrounds, sports
facilities, and cities that promote inclusivity and vitality. By centering the
lived experiences of communities, this research reframes public sports
innovation as a collaborative challenge; one that requires listening,
co-creating, and holistic thinking.
The
outcome is W&H Playscape - a comprehensive toolkit designed to empower sports
equipment suppliers and innovators to facilitate meaningful change in public
sporting spaces.
Central to this toolkit
is the Playscape Game, a card game that brings diverse stakeholders together to
engage in critical conversations, fostering empathy and shared understanding. This
is complemented by the Playscape Dashboard, an online platform where community sports
projects are visualized and tracked in real time, alongside a curated database
of participatory methods and tools. Together, these elements form an integrated
system that enables W&H Sports to facilitate dialogue around public sports
infrastructure and cocreate sporting environments that authentically reflect
community needs and aspirations. Ultimately, this thesis advocates for a fundamental
shift in how public sports infrastructure is designed and delivered in modern
society. A move away from prescriptive, top-down models toward collaborative, community-centered
approaches that drive systemic change.
In
an era where urban vitality and public health are increasingly at risk, it
calls for sports infrastructure that serves communities authentically, placing
local voices at the heart of a more inclusive and active future.