Where to Begin When Planning for Playspaces: Design by Inclusion and Inclusion by Design
An integrated model of play provision
The Playability Model (Lynch & Moore, 2018) is one way of approaching playspace design to capture the key principles, considerations, and play value factors in the design and development of Universal Design playspaces (see Playability Model, Figure 1).
The model is derived from a synthesis of the review and analysis of literature, policy and guidelines (NDA report 2018).
The Playability model comprises three tiers that interact and compete with one another in the design and development of quality playspaces. Modifying playgrounds to meet accessibility requirements, or only providing adult-led ‘play’ opportunities, does not promote play value and is not what we are aiming for. Instead, play value is at the centre, and achieved by careful design guided by 8 core principles, and key considerations.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 2013) highlights play as a ‘fundamental and vital dimension of the pleasure of childhood’. As such, play value takes precedence in this model. It is identified as an essential consideration in the design and development of quality playspaces.
Addressing Play value
It is difficult to specifically explain how to achieve play value as playspaces need to be flexible and offer varied simple and complex play opportunities if it seeks to meet the needs of all children who wish to play there. In 2008, Helen Woolley cited Stine’s work to provide some guidance on how we can expand our thing beyond listing types of play equipment (1997):
‘The need for more complex spaces for play has also been suggested by Stine as being an issue of providing for a series of dichotomous relationships: including being accessible and inaccessible, active and passive, challenge/risk and repetition/security, hard and soft, natural and people built, open and closed, permanence and change, private and public, simple and complex’ (Stine, as cited in Woolley, 2008, p. 12).
This identification of dichotomies as a way to capture play value was applied in our research and Stine’s dichotomies were expanded upon, to include other characteristics that arose in the guideline review, such as, fast and slow, space and components, solitary and social, predictable and unpredictable, quiet spaces and noisy spaces, light and shade, predictable and unpredictable, loose material and fixed material, texture and smoothness, ground level and elevated (Playability Model, Figure 1).
See how Woolley described the problem of KFC playgrounds, where the same Kit, Fences and Carpets are used, resulting in low play value and unused places for play: Exploring the Relationship between Design Approach and Play Value of Outdoor Play Spaces – White Rose Research Online
Figure 1. Playability Model: Integrating principles, considerations and play value for good practice in Universal Design play provision (Lynch & Moore, 2018)
Eight overarching principles
In our work exploring playground design guidelines internationally as well as in Ireland, we identified EIGHT CORE PRINCIPLES to guide inclusive planning and play provision in community parks and playspaces in Ireland.
In these 8 core principles, the design and development of playspaces is underpinned by core principles related to children’s rights and social policy concerning protection and promotion of rights and designing for inclusion, and children’s participation in decision-making at the centre. The application of Universal Design underpins these 8 overarching principles as guided by the General Comment no 17 on the right to play (2013)
Community playspaces should be designed with the following 8 principles in mind
- Principle 1: A rights-based perspective, underpinned by inclusive social policy
- Principle 2: Respect for diversity of age, gender, size, ability, socioeconomic, ethnicity and cultural differences
- Principle 3: Intergenerational spaces: Incorporating amenities as well as play opportunities
- Principle 4: Play value
- Principle 5: Positive approach to risk and challenge in policy and provision
- Principle 6: Design by inclusion: Involving users in the design process
- Principle 7: Inclusion by design: Universal Design
- Principle 8: Designed for inclusion but 100% accessibility and usability is not the goal
Core considerations
Planning and designing for inclusive community playspaces also require the need to attend to core considerations.
In the review of guidelines, core considerations were identified that commonly arise in playground planning and provision among municipalities, that related to pragmatic planning and design factors at local policy, planning, provision levels.
There are numerous competing factors and/or priorities in the design and development of Universal Design playspaces that offer significant play value. These included factors such as: location, size, storage, free access, maintenance, vandalism, fencing, surfacing, play sufficiency, capacity building of parks and playground staff.
