Remove Fun, and it's just a 'Ctional' City — Nonsense
“Kiwis are frustrated with rising rates, expanding bureaucracy, and poor value for money. This bill puts councils back to work on the basics, their core services, so ratepayers see real results for what they pay.” — Hon. Simon Watts MP FCA , Minister for Local Government
In response to this concern, the government has proposed reforms to remove the four well-beings and try to narrow the role of local government to core services (e.g., roads, pipes, and waste). That might sound efficient on paper, but when councils are told to strip away everything that isn’t a “core service,” we lose sight of what those services are actually for.
There’s a seductive logic to belt-tightening, especially during financial strain. But reducing investment in parks, libraries, museums, and play isn’t smart fiscal management, it’s short-sighted. These aren't frills; they're enablers of outcomes councils are already responsible for.
In fact, everything councils do, whether or not the four well-beings are formally legislated, is all about people. Remove the fun, and you lose the very function that makes cities work for people.
If this reform moment is about defining what’s core, then play belongs at the core. And we know this because of the work being done across Aotearoa by local Play Advocates embedded within councils through Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa's National Play Workforce Programme. We are uncovering, project by project, how play can be integrated across council work areas to deliver smarter, more meaningful outcomes.
So, what kind of cities and towns are we shaping for people to live in? And how do we deliver better value, not just less spending? When we understand what makes cities truly liveable, we can design infrastructure that serves multiple purposes and amplifies returns on investment.
What Kind of Cities Do We Want to Live In?
That’s the question posed by Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate in her response to the reforms. She rightly asks not only how we pay for local government, but what kind of places we’re trying to create. Her high-level call for a national conversation deserves attention, and so does the work already happening at the local level.
Councils don’t need to wait for permission to work smarter. They already are.
When Hamilton City Council staff found a boy excitedly watching fish at a stormwater catchment pond, it sparked a revelation: their "boring" infrastructure could be so much more. That small encounter helped spark a Play Strategy, and a new idea: the whole city could be a playground.
This resonates deeply with recent New Zealand research, which shows that unstructured city spaces do more to nurture children’s creativity and independence than traditional playgrounds alone. Real value lies in embedding play across the urban fabric, not confining it to segregated zones of participation.
Beyond Cuts vs. Extras: How to Make Infrastructure Work Smarter
The government's reforms present what appears to be a practical dilemma: either councils focus on essential services or they waste money on extras. But that’s a false choice. The most successful councils don't see this as choosing between competing priorities; they see it as a design challenge about making essential infrastructure provide greater value.
I've written before that play is not a nice-to-have, but a must-have, it’s fundamental to child development, mental and physical health, creativity, and building strong, connected communities. These long-term social and economic benefits are reason enough for councils to care. But especially now, play is more than a community good; it’s a smart delivery tool. It helps councils solve the very problems they’re tasked with. When integrated into core services, play multiplies impact, strengthens infrastructure, and enables better outcomes for the same investment.
Infrastructure That Works Better with Play
Below is a snapshot of how play both enables and is enabled by a range of council responsibilities, often seen as “core.” These examples, drawn from real projects across Aotearoa and around the world, show that play isn’t separate from core business; it enhances the impact of everyday work already underway.
Stormwater & Environment
How It Enables Play: By incorporating features like channels, boulders, and terraces into stormwater basins and detention areas (such as rain gardens, wetlands, and shallow streams) these systems can double as playful landscapes that invite interaction and exploration.
How Play Enhances Core Services: Improves stormwater performance by slowing and absorbing runoff more effectively, while also delivering functional public space. Playable stormwater design increases land efficiency by combining drainage and recreation, reduces infrastructure duplication, and builds public appreciation for essential civic systems.
Transport Infrastructure
How It Enables Play: By embedding interactive features into the routes people take, and not just destinations transport corridors transform travel into moments of play.
How Play Enhances Core Services: Encourages walking and cycling, reduces congestion and emissions, and enhances safety and vibrancy in public space.
Spatial Planning & Urban Growth
How It Enables Play: By integrating play into neighbourhood layouts and public corridors, spatial plans turn everyday movement into playful opportunity.
How Play Enhances Core Services: Supports density, reduces infrastructure costs, and strengthens place identity, enhancing the liveability of compact development.
Climate Adaptation & Sustainability
How It Enables Play: By designing green, shaded, and weather-resilient environments that encourage all-season outdoor activity, climate infrastructure becomes playful.
How Play Enhances Core Services: Builds public engagement with sustainability, supports healthy lifestyles, and increases uptake of climate-adaptive behaviour.
Emergency Preparedness & Resilience
How It Enables Play: By activating existing parks and public spaces as playful gathering places, communities build connection before crises occur.
How Play Enhances Core Services: Strengthens community networks, increases adaptive capacity, and provides multipurpose sites for emergency response and recovery.
Trade Waste & Resource Recovery
How It Enables Play: By redirecting clean, safe materials like packaging, timber offcuts, and decommissioned assets into loose parts play resources, waste becomes a catalyst for self-directed play.
How Play Enhances Core Services: Reduces landfill demand, extends asset life, and supports circular economy goals while fostering creative, low-cost community engagement.
Integration, Not Addition
So the answer to tight budgets isn't to strip away everything that makes cities liveable. It's to integrate these elements more cleverly into essential infrastructure. How do you do that?
The POpTED framework (Play Opportunities through Environmental Design) is one means of helping make this real. It guides local government to:
Design for Multi-purpose Use (e.g., a wall that’s also a climbing opportunity)
Enable Permission for Play (e.g., prompts that signal it’s okay to play)
Consider the Journey (e.g., play on the way to school or work)
Respond to Context (e.g., making spaces relevant and meaningful to their surroundings)
Build for People (e.g., design for who will use the space)
POpTED shows how to spend better by designing once and delivering twice, unlocking greater value through smarter integration. It’s not about adding more to the load, but about realigning what we already do to provide more for our communities.
Reform Doesn’t Have to Mean Reduction
Reform is often framed as cutting back. But it can also mean rethinking and realigning—recognising that the things which seem “soft” on a spreadsheet often carry the real weight in people’s lives. Instead of using austerity as a reason to cut the connective tissue of our cities, let’s redesign the frame.
Thanks to the work of council play advocates, supported by Sport NZ, we now have evidence, momentum, and practical tools for doing just that.
And if play can help stormwater systems, streetscapes, and transport plans work better for people, why would we cut it?
A Truly FUNctional City
The government's reforms create a paradox: they promise better value for money by making cities less valuable to live in. A city with perfect pipes and roads but no community amenities, no places for social connection, no opportunities for play or culture, is not a city most people want to live in. That’s the city where a kid grows up and says, “You did nothing for me. That's why I left and gave my money to another city.”
A truly functional city integrates every element of infrastructure to create a place where people want to live, grow, and connect. The work already happening across local government shows us how: design for multiple purposes, integrate outcomes, and never underestimate the power of play.
If we want real value for money, as Minister Watts calls for, then it’s time to value what makes life worth living, and design infrastructure that supports it.
