Ping Pong X LIGHT

For a while, I had been planning to buy a ping pong set to play with friends in Berlin’s parks. One day, we stumbled across a spot where people were already playing. We asked if we could join, and soon found ourselves chatting about table tennis and the best locations in the city. That’s when we discovered pingpongmap.net, a community map showing tables around Berlin with user reviews. Interestingly, tables are rated more highly when there’s a light source nearby.

Later that day, we came across another table tennis area - this time without any lighting. Curious, we stayed until nightfall to see how players would respond to the darkness. What happened was inspiring: the players brought their own lights.

That small act transformed the space. What could have been a barrier to play became an opportunity for creativity, resourcefulness, and community-building. It was a perfect example of tactical urbanism - a spontaneous, low-cost intervention that adapted public space to people’s needs.

And when the tool is light, it is delicious!

This experience made me realize how much I enjoy seeing these kinds of everyday transformations in the city. Simple actions, like setting up a lamp around a ping pong table, can make public space more inclusive and alive. They show how citizens actively shape their environment, often in ways that are just as powerful as formal design.