children's play - urban places
Children's
play is a vital aspect of design. Within the urban context of play areas, the
benefits are huge to the children. We as landscape architects should be making
a positive imprint on our cities and thinking about the younger generations
that it will positively effect.
The positive factors that effect children when they have access to open play areas:
·
Spaces to interact,
build relationships between other children and the surrounding environment.
·
Increases physical
activity, positively effecting the health of the children.
·
Including natural
elements with the play area like water, vegetation and soil cools the area,
decreasing the heat island effect.
·
Freedom to
express opinions and help with decision making.
·
Can increase
the sense of community if the community are included in the making of the
space.
·
These
spaces will “broaden children’s
horizons and respect for the public realm of the city and the value of nature.”
(Askew, 2018)
·
Reduces
the inequality within cities.
·
Increases
security, using well lit spaces, and the use of 24h space, creates well valued
activity.
However
currently within the UK outdoor play time has decreased by 50% found in a study
by Real Play Coalition Partners. This is a detrimental figure, which will negatively
effect the development of the children from the vital motor skills and social
skills that they learn from outdoor play. From the same study 92% of children
say that they want more play in their lives (Arup, 2020), which is what we
should be aiming our designs towards. This problem isn’t just within the UK it
spreads around the world with “a fifth of 7-12-year-olds globally are not allowed
to play outside their own” (Arup, 2020). This limits the health of the children
within cities, by preventing outdoor exercise and increasing the risk of
obesity and other heath risks that lower their quality of life.
There
are numerous of ways that we can include play into our design. They should be a
mix of play such as areas solely dedicated to play and then formal landscapes
that incorporate play seamlessly, and less obviously. This creates creative
landscapes that cater to everyone and gives children a chance to socialise with
different people and allows them to interact with the environment.
The
urban play should be:
·
Engaging
– incorporating feedback
from the community.
·
Playful
that sparks imagination and creativity
·
Location
should be on the route that children
travel, or connected well to children that live nearby.
·
Comfort
with shade, seating, both for children and their carers
·
Flexibility
for the space, creating a multifunctional place.
·
Well
maintained space.
KaBOOM Play Everywhere & Gehl (2019)
I
think that play spaces should be incorporated within normal design. It should
be subtle effects from a design like art features that cast moving shadows, that
children can use their imagination to play with. Or the side of walls that are
tactile, that they can run their hands along sparking creativity. We should be
creating inspiring, fun, and creative spaces that allow everyone to express
themselves. There should be a good mix of large spaces solely dedicated to kids
play, and then it should be tactically integrated into the public realm through
art features, colours, and light.
playful art sculptures lining pedestrian walk ways. Creates a dimension to a dull urban landscape.
Reference
list
Arup (2020) Reclaiming Play in
Cities, Available from:
<file:///C:/Users/owner/Downloads/Reclaiming_Play_in_Cities.pdf>
[Accessed: 13 February 2023]
Askew, J. (2018) Shaping Urbanization
for Children: A Handbook on Child-Responsive Urban Planning, Cities &
Health: 1–1
KaBOOM Play Everywhere & Gehl
(2019) Play Everywhere Evaluation, Available from:
<https://kaboom.org/playbook/evaluation> [Accessed: 13 February 2023]
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