Buffalo, New York
An Eight-Year-Old Didn't Imagine a Playground. She Imagined Forgiveness.
Sometimes the most important outcome isn't the project. It's the conversation that changes everything.
When university students partnered with a neighborhood to imagine the future of seven vacant lots, they expected to hear ideas about parks, gardens, playgrounds, and gathering spaces.
Instead, an eight-year-old girl named Yaya answered a different question.
When asked what could be possible for her neighborhood, she simply said:
"Forgiveness."
The room grew quiet. Not because it was an expected answer. Because it revealed something no one else had named.
The conversation was no longer about vacant land. It was about healing.
The students left with a different challenge than they expected. Their role wasn't simply to design seven beautiful spaces. It was to imagine how each recommendation might create the conditions where forgiveness—and the relationships it requires—could begin to grow.
The project became something much larger than a design exercise. It became an exercise in listening.
The PLAYCE Difference
- The community defined success before the designers did.
- The conversation shifted from what should be built to what needed to become possible.
- The students designed for healing, not simply for place.
Communities already hold the wisdom they need. Sometimes our role is simply to create the space where it can be heard.