Masidlale, meaning “let’s play!”, is an intergenerational workshop where gogos and grandchildren share their experiences of public spaces and learn to redesign urban environments through a series of playful challenges. The workshop was adapted from the Play Africa toolkit, which teaches children Design Thinking concepts and gets them to talk about the world around them; their route to school, playground, and home.

Together, gogos and grandchildren co-design neighbourhoods that are safe, inviting and accessible to the youngest and oldest members of society. Through creative problem-solving and placemaking, both generations explore their relationships to public spaces and their unique perspectives of the same environment.

Our first workshop took place in October 2025. The workshop took participants through the six principles of design thinking: empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test and share. Grandchildren got to put on their “inventor hats” and think critically about the parks, playgrounds, and buildings around them - and the streets that connected them all. Each activity presented a new challenge: from understanding the problems community members faced to brainstorming creative solutions with varying resources.

What emerged was a powerful, youth-led vision for safer communities. The grandchildren proposed a variety of safety-enhancing interventions, including fencing, improved lighting, green spaces, community safety officers and pedestrian markings. Their thoughtful suggestions led to a deeper understanding of urban challenges faced by children and older persons, viewed through the lens of lived experiences.