| After several decades of high-stress technological and economic optimism shaped by a strong work-ethic, leading sociologists and designers predict that people's lifestyles in Europe and beyond are becoming more focused on play, leisure, creativity and low-stress activities, with lower negative influence on personal health and the environment. The ethic that these activities demand is closer to an improvisational 'play ethic', based on the ability to act playfully in a variety of situations - from research for innovation, to extreme sports and online game-play, but also life-long-learning, participatory art-forms and even child-care. To address the social and cultural requirements of future societies, public spaces should become capable of stimulating play, creativity, relaxation and imagination. These four human aptitudes are not just there to improve other aspects of life such as science, education and the economy, they are essential for the construction of a rich and diverse reality. | After several decades of high-stress technological and economic optimism shaped by a strong work-ethic, leading sociologists and designers predict that people's lifestyles in Europe and beyond are becoming more focused on play, leisure, creativity and low-stress activities, with lower negative influence on personal health and the environment. The ethic that these activities demand is closer to an improvisational 'play ethic', based on the ability to act playfully in a variety of situations - from research for innovation, to extreme sports and online game-play, but also life-long-learning, participatory art-forms and even child-care. To address the social and cultural requirements of future societies, public spaces should become capable of stimulating play, creativity, relaxation and imagination. These four human aptitudes are not just there to improve other aspects of life such as science, education and the economy, they are essential for the construction of a rich and diverse reality. |
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