<scp>PLAYING WITH PREFIGURATION</scp> : Ludic Spaces and Prefigurative Organizing for Children's Right to the Mobile City

Abstract Earlier writings on the political importance of play have discussed how it can make players conscious of the possibilities of otherwise worlds. Prefigurative politics has very similar aims, but the discussion between the two has been limited. In this article, I conceptualize prefigurative political forms of child mobility activism (i.e. mobility collectives, street experiments and demonstrations) as ludic spaces that prefigure children's right to the mobile city. Here, play is not mere make‐believe but based on real emotional stakes, appropriation of real spaces and creation of disruptive rhythms. After that, I show how the players use ludic spaces as the foundation for prefigurative organizing, but also that these processes are highly contextual and fragmented. Finally, I discuss how ludic spaces and other prefigurative political forms can be considered part of the radical cooperative notion of the right to the (mobile) city.

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Publication Details

Journal
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Published
2026-06-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.70120
Primary Topic
Children's Rights and Participation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

PLAYING WITH PREFIGURATION : Ludic Spaces and Prefigurative Organizing for Children's Right to the Mobile City

Jonne Silonsaari
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Children's Rights and Participation
article

PLAYING WITH PREFIGURATION : Ludic Spaces and Prefigurative Organizing for Children's Right to the Mobile City

Jonne Silonsaari
article en

Abstract

Abstract Earlier writings on the political importance of play have discussed how it can make players conscious of the possibilities of otherwise worlds. Prefigurative politics has very similar aims, but the discussion between the two has been limited. In this article, I conceptualize prefigurative political forms of child mobility activism (i.e. mobility collectives, street experiments and demonstrations) as ludic spaces that prefigure children's right to the mobile city. Here, play is not mere make‐believe but based on real emotional stakes, appropriation of real spaces and creation of disruptive rhythms. After that, I show how the players use ludic spaces as the foundation for prefigurative organizing, but also that these processes are highly contextual and fragmented. Finally, I discuss how ludic spaces and other prefigurative political forms can be considered part of the radical cooperative notion of the right to the (mobile) city.

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Children's Rights and Participation
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