Children's claim on spatial justice. Play practices in urban space

The paper explores children's claim on spatial justice through play. It develops an interdisciplinary methodological approach grounded in critical thinking that draws on Children's Geographies, Urban Studies and the New Sociology of Childhood, with the aim to engage children as agents in shaping spatial justice. The central argument is that children's play is an everyday spatial practice that can act as a lensto address the complex issue of spatial justice by bringing the voices of a marginalized social group to the fore. Based on ethnographic research with children aged 7–12 in a central neighborhood of Athens, the paper elaborates on three key aspects of their play. First, through play, children produce their own places, thus claiming their visibility. Second, they re-invent the urban space and shape hybrid spaces of negotiation, highlighting the contingency of urban space. Third, they forge multiple connections with play communities, the self, the place, and adults, revealing a web of interconnected rights and responsibilities. The paper concludes that children's claim on spatial justice revives their right to the city, a complex political work that links spatial justice with the “here and now” of childhood.