"With its vivid, detailed descriptions The Accidental Playground portrays the many, varied activities that citizens pursue, with great ingenuity and determination, in un-designed urban spaces. Campo's stories make painfully clear what is lost when such spaces are redeveloped. The book makes an invaluable contribution to the growing literature on the value of the un-planned."--Karen Franck, New Jersey Institute of Technology "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 "The Accidental Playground provides an informative and fascinating study of a unique area of Brooklyn. From skateboarding and marching bands to artworks and impromptu residences, Campo's perceptive eye and insightful interpretations provide a convincing account of the diverse value of city wastelands for creative urban living.
"Iain Borden, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL ". 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 [Brooklyn] 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 "Campo's study plunges you into a red tape strewn hole of bureaucratic irrationality." -Quarterly Snack ". Thanks to Campo's unbiased writing, this is a great book of what the city used to be.
" -Ink New York "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 ". 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 Eduaction and Research "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 "Campo's close, yet open, reading should be an inspiration for students of planning and urbanism, and for contemporary practitioners." -Journal of Design History.