The Accidental Playground: Brooklyn Waterfront Narratives of the Undesigned and Unplanned

Campo’s close, yet open, reading should be an inspiration for students of planning and urbanism, and for contemporary practitioners. . . Source: ―Journal of Design History

Daniel Campo’s book, ‘The Accidental Playground,’ tells the story of an abandoned rail terminal on the North Brooklyn waterfront that between 200 and 2010 became the home turf of skateboarders, artists, marching bands, homeless people, and neighborhood residents in need of a bigger and freer backyard. Source: ―Next City

. . . we could all benefit from Campo’s challenge to incorporate a broader view of par constituencies and develop a richer appreciation for the connections between place and the breadth of human experience. Source: ―Journal of Planning Education and Research

At some point in the late-1980s a free space opened up on the waterfront of North Brooklyn. It was an unlikely paradise yet the artists, musicians, fishermen, teenagers and homeless that gathered there all fell under its spell. You stood in full view of the metal towers of Manhattan but it was so quiet that you could hear the waves breaking on the shore and the low hum of traffic across the river on the FDR Drive. Of course it couldn’t last.

In this magisterial account of the waterfront, Daniel Campo expertly deploys chops from many disciplines – anthropology, urban studies, journalism, architecture – to paint a vivid portrait of a lost world. Over years of research, he won the trust of the locals and they told him what the waterfront meant to them. Campo is a scholar who can write, and his stories preserve the magic of an urban wilderness that has been obliterated by the scheming of the rich and powerful. The Accidental Playground is both timeless and cautionary: places like the Williamsburg waterfront are essential, but if we don’t listen to visionaries like Campo, they’ll always be stolen from us.

Author: ―Robert Anasi Source: The Last Bohemia: Scenes from the Life of Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Daniel Campo. a former New York City planner, considers the serendipitous development of Williamsburg . . . Source: ―Sam Roberts, The New York Times

The Accidental Playground provides a great contribution to emerging debates on vernacular creative city dynamics. In particular it offers a critical view on urban politics in relation to the design and planning of parks and other public spaces. Source: ―societyandspace.com

Daniel Campo’s The Accidental Playground explores critical terrain at the intersection of urban planning, insurgent space, and visual culture. Campo’s deep and sensitive portrait of a unique city space eliminated by business-as-usual New York development politics is a thoughtful paen to do-it-yourself placemaking, but also a nuanced warning that planning-for-profit can leave the true public good behind. Author: ―Brent D. Ryan Source: Associate Professor of Urban Design and Public Policy, MIT

Campo’s close, yet open, reading should be an inspiration for students of planning and urbanism, and for contemporary practitioners. . . ― ―Journal of Design History

Daniel Campo’s book, ‘The Accidental Playground,’ tells the story of an abandoned rail terminal on the North Brooklyn waterfront that between 200 and 2010 became the home turf of skateboarders, artists, marching bands, homeless people, and neighborhood residents in need of a bigger and freer backyard. ― ―Next City

. . . we could all benefit from Campo’s challenge to incorporate a broader view of par constituencies and develop a richer appreciation for the connections between place and the breadth of human experience. ― ―Journal of Planning Education and Research

At some point in the late-1980s a free space opened up on the waterfront of North Brooklyn. It was an unlikely paradise yet the artists, musicians, fishermen, teenagers and homeless that gathered there all fell under its spell. You stood in full view of the metal towers of Manhattan but it was so quiet that you could hear the waves breaking on the shore and the low hum of traffic across the river on the FDR Drive. Of course it couldn’t last.
In this magisterial account of the waterfront, Daniel Campo expertly deploys chops from many disciplines – anthropology, urban studies, journalism, architecture – to paint a vivid portrait of a lost world. Over years of research, he won the trust of the locals and they told him what the waterfront meant to them. Campo is a scholar who can write, and his stories preserve the magic of an urban wilderness that has been obliterated by the scheming of the rich and powerful. The Accidental Playground is both timeless and cautionary: places like the Williamsburg waterfront are essential, but if we don’t listen to visionaries like Campo, they’ll always be stolen from us.

—―Robert Anasi, The Last Bohemia: Scenes from the Life of Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Daniel Campo. a former New York City planner, considers the serendipitous development of Williamsburg . . . ― ―Sam Roberts, The New York Times

The Accidental Playground provides a great contribution to emerging debates on vernacular creative city dynamics. In particular it offers a critical view on urban politics in relation to the design and planning of parks and other public spaces. ― ―societyandspace.com

Daniel Campo’s The Accidental Playground explores critical terrain at the intersection of urban planning, insurgent space, and visual culture. Campo’s deep and sensitive portrait of a unique city space eliminated by business-as-usual New York development politics is a thoughtful paen to do-it-yourself placemaking, but also a nuanced warning that planning-for-profit can leave the true public good behind.—―Brent D. Ryan, Associate Professor of Urban Design and Public Policy, MIT