More inclusion, please! – The city of Cologne wants to stop calling playgrounds playgrounds

It is unknown how many hours of meetings were devoted to the topic. But the outcome of the deliberations suggests that the matter was thoroughly considered: In Cologne, playgrounds will no longer be called playgrounds. This is what the Cologne city administration has decided. It is because the term no longer corresponds to the "municipal strategy." Why this is not done is not entirely clear, but it clearly demonstrates the thinking of those in charge in the offices.

The official justification for the decision was that "playground" was a "limiting term." After all, playgrounds aren't just for children, but also for young people and even for other "target and user groups." However, the term "playground" suggested that these were places reserved exclusively for children. Therefore, anyone who isn't a child might not feel welcome at the city's approximately seven hundred playgrounds. And this, the city administration concluded, called for urgent action.

The signs marking the spaces will therefore in future refer to "play and activity areas." This decision was made about two years ago. It was announced on Wednesday in a report in the "Kölner Stadtanzeiger." A draft for the new sign shows stylized figures playing ball, skating, and playing in the sandbox. "People who are in motion and active," as the city administration explains – admittedly, "without any indication of the person's age."

The new sign is intended to take into account "the diversity of users" and "their cultural characteristics" and to incorporate the idea of ​​inclusion, according to the administration's report. The whole process was developed through a "participatory process." Children and young people were involved in the decision. This process alone cost 38,000 euros. But why not? After all, this is a project of social importance. And about 2,000 signs need to be replaced. No small feat, then. The city remains silent about the costs of manufacturing and installing the signs.

Despite the broad scope of the consultation, the mayor was apparently unaware of it. She doesn't seem to think much of her administration's idea. "Personally, I find the name 'playground' clear and understandable," Henriette Rieker told the press. Such a fundamental renaming is no easy task for the current administration. The council is expected to make a decision at the beginning of September.

Does that resolve the matter? Perhaps. But it may even become much more complicated. "Playground Gate" has sparked spiteful debates in the press about the detours the woke inclusion debate can take. And about the fact that the administration is calmly pondering terms without caring that some of the playgrounds are in a neglected state, as a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament told a newspaper.

Perhaps the two are related. And perhaps it makes good sense to reserve playgrounds primarily for children. Urban playgrounds are often hotspots that are closely monitored by the police. Where people smoke and deal marijuana, where dogs are being groomed, and fights are taking place, you don't build sandcastles. And ultimately, inclusion doesn't really make much of a difference either.