Category Archives: Outdoor play

Outdoor play

An everyday playground adventure, from a child’s point of view

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 1 comment

NYC playground video screenshotHow could I not share this? Everyday adventures on a New York City playground, as viewed from about 3 feet up. Recorded by a five-year-old girl. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Outdoor play, Play spaces, playground

Tagged , , , , ,

Playgrounds that rip up the safety rules

Posted on March 7, 2012 | 104 comments

Girl hanging from a fallen tree in Valbyparken playgroundThis post has a simple aim: to get you to rethink playground safety. Through a handful of images of playgrounds from around the world, I hope to encourage you to abandon any preconceived notions you may have about what a safe playground looks like.

Continue reading →

104 Comments

Posted in Outdoor play, Play spaces, playground, Risk

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

London leads the way with new planning guidance

Posted on February 9, 2012 | 7 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.

Continue reading →

7 Comments

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

Tagged , , , ,

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

Posted on January 30, 2012 | 25 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.

Continue reading →

25 Comments

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

Tagged , , , , , , ,

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

Posted on January 17, 2012 | 7 comments

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

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Posted on January 13, 2012 | 6 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 →

6 Comments

Posted in Mobility, Outdoor play, Public policy

Tagged , , , , , , , ,