ASD PUBLICS

The ASD Publics: Activating Spaces for Neurodiversity is an EU-funded project under the New European Bauhaus initiative focused on creating neuroinclusive urban play areas. Led by the TURBA research group at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, the project co-creates sustainable and inclusive play spaces specifically for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. The project has created new tools and methods to design sustainable and inclusive play areas for and with children with ASD and their families. The project aims to reimagine and transform playgrounds in cities in order to provide design guidelines to increase the potential for inclusive play and nature-based solutions in public space that can be implemented in other cities or countries.

The pilot methodology was held in the Les Glòries park and in the courtyard of a school in Barcelona. The workshops had temporary facilities where children were invited to play and experiment freely. Observing their sensory and psychomotor responses, as well as their choices for specific materials and spaces, will offer valuable information about their play preferences and spaces that the project aims to understand.

The ASD Publics Project received an honorary mention in the European Union prize for Citizen Science 2024.