|
 A
playspace is where a child can engage himself in a multitude of free-play
activities. A playspace can occur anywhere and at anytime. But when a
child's environment is altered by urban development and other modern
constraints, his play activities become limited to specialized areas we
recognize as playgrounds. Although a playground can never become a
replacement for making sand castles on a beach or walking through the woods, it
needs to at least provide exposure to the world outside a fenced perimeter.
Even in Hawaii where a natural environment abounds, children are
constrained to institutional forms of play. Public schools and city parks
do very little to engage kids in more than the most mundane physical
activities. The typical layout of a playground is the presence of one or
two composite structures that only a child under the age of five may find
challenging. Fighting, boredom, and reckless behavior on the play yard is often a result of
the short-sighted vision of how to design an outdoor playspace. (see
Hawaii Playgrounds)
As
people begin discarding their collection of playground catalogs and start
acknowledging their own intuition as well as a plethora of research in child
development, a new image of playgrounds is beginning to emerge. These
playspaces have a greater reliance upon landscaping than on equipment.
They are evolving spaces which adjust to the interests of kids. They are
also investments of dedication and concern rather than investments of scarce
funding.
The
following are some of the guiding principles used when creating an enriched
play environment:
-
Access
and Circulation - Is there adequate
room for children to move with ease and engage in play events without excess
obstruction or crowding?
-
Diversity
of Play - Can children find a wide
range of group and independent activities to capture their immediate and
future attention?
-
Play
Challenges - Are features used in the
play space appropriate for the age group it is intended for?
Is there a wide range of challenges for children with varied abilities?
-
Multiplicity
of Function - Do the features in the
play space lend themselves to a variety of uses?
-
Attraction
- Do children find the
entire play space inviting? Is there sufficient attention to natural
materials and green spaces?
-
Protective
Measures - Are children visually
accessible? Are potential injuries considered &
adequately
addressed?
-
Longevity
- Will the play space last and what maintenance schedule can be applied that
will realistically be followed?
|
If you want to do something for a
child...give him an environment where he can touch things as much as he wants.
-Buckminster
Fuller
|
