History of Playground Design
(from Janice Birkeland-Corro)

Playground design patterns reflect society's view of play. Early writings stressed organised games and sport, which would shape primal instincts into civilised behaviour. Free play was seen as having little value. Recreational land was single purpose, like football ovals, or unadorned open spaces used for adult-led activities. Children's physical activity was limited to competitive sports, which discouraged those less able.

The first play equipment reflected this, with single purpose galvanised pipe structures set apart from each other and from the rest of the park. They were designed not to interact with each other, rather to elicit specific physical movements. Limitations of the equipment meant it needed a parents to work it (ie. swings) or it did not adapt to use by children of a range of sizes and abilities (ie. monkey bars).

Multifunctional structures allow for more developmental exercise and social interaction. However, some studies indicate that children find streets and backyards more interesting than playgrounds. It may be children are interested in the same environments as adults and so rather than segregating children's spaces, adult spaces could be made more accessible to children.

Home range and Gender:
(Linda Corkery, and Chris Cunningham and Margaret Jones)

4-5 y.o. Small, centred around the home, in view of parent. 15m from door, lateral movement 25-40m

6-9 y.o. up to 150m from front door. 450-1000 m path length. Activity destinations: friends' houses, playground, school

10-12 y.o. large range of local places; destinations further afield, including undeveloped bush areas.

Up to 5, boys and girls have similar ranges; from 6-9, girls have smaller territories and tend not to go alone. One survey indicated that although individual girls may roam as far as boys, in general fewer girls played away from home. When they did play away from home they travelled less than half as far as boys on average. The more inaccessible and natural the area the higher the proportion of boys. The girls playing in these areas were just as engaged, indicating equal interest. In these areas play was less agressive and more inclusive of mixed ages and gender.

Children play in a wide range of areas, not all children's spaces. Children like places with materials, or environmental factors to manipulate, such as sand, water, building materials. Some studies have indicated that play equipment alone engages a child's attention for only about 14 minutes.

Parent/Child negotiation of space
(Robin C Moore, and Chris Cunningham and Margaret Jones)

Parents tend to control the home environment, including the garden, and often consider the backyard to be an adult recreational space. Many adults feel the need to keep gardens, especially front gardens, neat as the most visible indicator to the outside world of the occupants. This is also partly true of backyards, and tends to limit children's use of such spaces. Unkempt garden areas with a wider range of insect life and a less disciplined ecology have greater fascination for children.

Landscaping, especially by public authorities, tends to be for 'show' rather then for use. At the other extreme, the yard can be devoted entirely to children's use, often with the consequence that only the hardiest vegetation survives.

Children are looking for challenge in complex manipulable environments and are particularly attracted to natural landscapes. Parents seek to minimise dangers to children. These result in negotiation between parents and children over suitable play spaces. Generally girls' territories are more heavily restricted than boys by parents.

Playgrounds in Schools
(Morrie Shaw)

In 1883 school inspectors complained that school playgrounds were neglected bare areas with no trees or vegetation.

One of the most influential books on school playgrounds of the time suggested in 1874 that boys and girls should be separated by a six foot wall, and that boys needed most of the play area. Play was an extension of the class room with discipline and formation of character paramount. Activities such as drill, and organised games and sports were considered most suitable. Although play equipment was considered necessary in theory, very few schools had any, and the Department of Education did not sanction play equipment until 1939.

At the turn of the century, the school yard was overtaken by 'New Education', which involved practical education. As a result, most schools created within their schoolyards gardens and vegetable patches. Among the benefits were practical application and observation of disciplines such as science and arithmetic. Hard work was seen as wholesome, and the planting of native species was considered to foster patriotism. This trend waned during World War 1 due to lack of resources and staff, and was not restarted after the war.

Sources:
Birkeland-Corro, Janice Playground Design, Architecture Australia November 1985 p 40-45 ML Q720.5/2

Corkery, Linda Beyond the Playground in Open Spaces, People Places Royal Australian Institute of Parks and Recreation Conference Proceedings 1988 Paper 47 ML Q333.7830884/43

Corkery, Linda Playspace Community Activities Network

Cunningham, Chris and Jones, Margaret Girls and Boys come out to play: Play, gender and urban planning Landscape Australia No 4 1991 p 305 - 311 ML Q712.05/1

Moore, Robin C. Childhood's Domain, Croom Helm, London

Shaw, MorrieA Child's Garden of Delight Architecture Australia Vol 68 No 3 1979 p. 29-36 ML Q720.5/2

References:
Aaron, David Child's Play: A creative approach to playspaces for today's children New York 1965 NSWSL N796.068/4

Barnard, James Children in the Built Environment [biblio details ]] ML Q711.558/28

Bengsson, Arvid The Child's Right to Play [biblio info missing] NSWSL NQ796.068/6

Community Activity Centres Network Children's Play Environments ML Q 790.068944/2

Downton, Peter Children's perception and use of space Architecture Australia Vol 68 June/July 1979 p 61-63 ML Q720.5/2

Frost, Joe Children's Play and Playgrounds [biblio info missing] NSWSL N790.68/6A

Jeavons, Sally Recreational assessments on Housing Estates Australian Parks and Recreations Vol 21 No 4 Winter 1985 p 20-23 NSWSL N711.55805/3

Kern, Anne The story of a playground Architecture Australia Vol 68 June/July 1979 p 43-51 ML Q720.5/2

McCullogh, James Ways to Play: Recreational Alternatives Rodale Press [biblio info missing] NSWSL E790.0973/4

Moore, Robin Childhood's Domain: Play and place in child development [biblio info missing] NSWSL N305.23/41

Open Spaces, People Places Royal Australian Institute of Parks and Recreation Conference 1988 ML Q333.7830994/43

Sutton-Smith, Brian A History of Children's Play [biblio info missing] ML 790.1922099/2

Walsh, Prue Early Childhood Play Spaces, The Child at Play, National Conference of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation Australia Conference Papers 1987