What steps can be taken to normalize play and movement for adults in public spaces?

Caitlin Pontrella discusses the Movement Creative, explaining its goals and vision beyond simply teaching parkour. She unpacks her thoughts on the concept of play, how it relates to parkour, and the benefits of both play and risk. Caitlin wraps up by sharing her insights into starting new projects and how to involve your community.

“Risk gives you choice, and it gives you opportunity to explore and challenge yourself.” ~ Caitlin Pontrella (5:17)

The conversation centers on the concept of normalizing play for adults and making public spaces more engaging. Caitlin Pontrella discusses her work with the Movement Creative, a social enterprise aimed at fostering creativity, movement, and education. Projects like “movement snacks” provide subtle invitations for play in public spaces, aiming to remove the stigma associated with adult play while promoting accessibility and inclusivity. This shift can lead to a cultural transformation, encouraging adults to view movement as a natural, joyful part of life.

Topics also include the importance of risk in play, the concept of Parkour vision, and how it changes perceptions of urban environments. Caitlin emphasizes the value of partnerships and community engagement when implementing ideas to enhance public spaces. She shares examples of playful initiatives, such as “mice on Main,” which successfully create a sense of wonder and interaction within cities. The conversation underscores the transformative potential of play and movement to enrich personal and communal experiences.

Takeaways

Creating playful invitations in public spaces — Movement snacks subtly encourage people to interact with their environment and rediscover the joy of play.

Normalizing adult play — By modeling playful behavior in public, adults can give others implicit permission to participate.

Balancing perceptions of risk — Understanding that risk is a choice and part of growth can reshape how communities design play-friendly spaces.

Reimagining urban spaces — Concepts like Parkour vision help people view cities as opportunities for exploration and self-expression.

Engaging communities — Collaborating with local groups and governments is crucial for implementing playful, impactful public initiatives.

Play as a universal language — Movement and play transcend cultural and social barriers, fostering connection and belonging.

Small projects, big impact — Low-budget initiatives, like scavenger hunts or playful signage, can inspire significant community engagement.

Shifting cultural mindsets — Encouraging creativity and play challenges the competitive, achievement-driven focus of modern life.

Resources

The Movement Creative — A social enterprise promoting movement, education, and design through playful initiatives.

Love Where You Live by Peter Kageyama — A book about using play to activate and engage communities.

Mice on Main — A playful public art project in Greenville, South Carolina, encouraging exploration and interaction.

Walk Your City — A project using signage to promote walking and community engagement.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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— Hello👋 I’m Craig Constantine.

In the Movers Mindset podcast, I talk with movement enthusiasts to learn who they are, what they do, and why they do it. I’m interested in the nature and philosophy of movement and in exploring themes like independence, self-direction, and human excellence. My interests color each conversation and provide some structure to Movers Mindset. But since I like to take the scenic route, every conversation ends up going somewhere unique.

The purpose of Movers Mindset is to create and share great conversations with movement enthusiasts. Each conversation feeds my insatiable curiosity, but I share them to turn on a light for someone else, to inspire them, or to give them their next question.

I appreciate your time and attention, and I don’t take it for granted.

— Thank you!

My personal mission is creating better conversations to spread understanding and compassion. And Movers Mindset is one of the things I do in service of my mission. Drop by https://craigconstantine.com/ for my weekly email, my other podcasts, writing and more.

The Movers Mindset project grew from conversations I started having as part of my personal journey rediscovering movement. The project started late in 2015, and it was initially simply a web site that shared others’ writing. The project grew, and in 2017 I started the podcast. I’ve worked extremely hard, but none of this would have been possible without so much help from so many people.

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