Category Archives: Outdoor play

Outdoor play

London leads the way with new planning guidance

Posted on February 9, 2012 | 6 Comments

Cover of draft GLA SPG on playThe Mayor of London has today released draft revised planning guidance for outdoor play, entitled Shaping Neighbourhoods: Children and Young People’s Play and Informal Recreation. The document shows that London’s decision-makers continue to take seriously the play needs of the capital’s children and young people.

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Posted in Outdoor play, Play spaces, playground, Public policy, Public space, Urbanism

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When you walk or you ride or you sit or you climb, that’s affordance

Posted on January 30, 2012 | 12 Comments

I’ve thinking a lot about affordances recently. An affordance is something in the environment that makes an offer to a person, or that reveals a possible function. Here is an example: a flat hard surface about 20 – 40 cm off the ground affords sitting.

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Posted in Outdoor play, play, Play spaces, playground, Public space

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Who says kids don’t play in creeks and build dens any more?

Posted on January 17, 2012 | 6 Comments

Of course some still do. Take the group of boys from Raleigh, North Carolina captured in this slide show.

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Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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Is a taste of freedom the key to a good childhood?

Posted on January 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

Yesterday’s launch of the Good Childhood report from the Children’s Society has prompted more soul-searching about childhood. Coverage has focused on the report’s finding that half a million of the country’s children aged 8 to 16 – nearly 10 per cent – had a low sense of well-being. This is indeed a troubling finding – even if some of those children will become happier over time. Yet this media focus, while understandable, misses out a far more important message: the crucial value of a taste of freedom and autonomy. Continue reading →

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Posted in Mobility, Outdoor play, Public policy

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Moving on from the zero risk childhood

Posted on January 11, 2012 | 8 Comments

Girl climbing a treeThe ‘cotton wool kid’ – cosseted, watched over, insulated from all possible harm – has become a potent symbol of our fear-filled, risk-averse times. Across the rich nations, children are statistically safer today than at any time in history [pdf link]. But the insidious question ‘what if…?’ crowds out common sense, and clouds our good judgement. Continue reading →

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Posted in Education, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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Olympic playground plans unveiled

Posted on December 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) has announced the winners of the design competitions for the north and south hubs of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Congratulations to both winning teams, and commiserations to all the runners-up.

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Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, play, Play spaces, playground, Public space

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