Learning Through Play: How Designers Partner with Educators

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

4:00 PM-5:00 PM

Citizens and urban planners unite in "Urban Strategy in the Present Tense," a year-long speaker series dedicated to the local roots of civic innovation.

What happens when architects and educators collaborate to design public spaces that promote learning?

In this episode, we talk with Debra Ruben, Academic Associate Dean and Associate Professor, and Ulrike Altenmüeller-Lewis, Department Head of Architecture, Design & Urbanism at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

With support from the William Penn Foundation, our guests co-developed a university course on playful learning for architects and designers in partnership with the Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network (PLLAN). The course is part of a growing effort in Philadelphia to embed playful learning principles into the city’s everyday spaces—from bus stops to public plazas—by involving families, communities, and design professionals.

We explore how the Westphal College project fits into a national movement that sees play as a catalyst for learning, civic engagement, and long-term systems change.

Register for our conversation here.

The series is produced by the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University in partnership with the Urban Strategy Masters Program in Drexel's Westphal College of Media, Arts & Design. Andrew Zitcer hosts the webinar. Thomas Devaney produces the series with production director Hazel Dequito.

Contact Information

Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation
hd353@drexel.edu