Parc Central de Nou Barris is home to the Whale, a new children’s playground consisting of two large structures in the shape of this marine animal swimming together, accompanied by other elements inspired by its ecosystem. This structure offers children different spaces to play in: slides, a maze, rope hammocks, a climbing frame, a boat that can be shared by various children at the same time, and a moving fin they can swing on.

Based on the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the right to play (Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child) and international frameworks of reference on design to maximize playability in the urban environment, seven guidelines were drawn up for the design of play areas in Barcelona, the result of crosscutting work with the various agents responsible for its playable city programme. Some of the criteria listed for a new approach to play were: a varied, stimulating, connected and accessible physical space; inclusive play spaces that take into account age, gender, culture and disabilities; contact with nature and green, and exploration using natural elements, and shared and collaborative play. Days of reflection and seminars were organized to hear children’s opinions. In Nou Barris, 84 pupils at the Àgora, Calderón de la Barca and La Guineueta centres participated, explaining what they liked to play, what they thought of Parc Central, and how they would improve it. Their intervention and the incorporation of the criteria listed above produced the Whale project.