
7 February 2024
Social aspects key to inclusive playgrounds
An inclusive playground is a space that provides opportunities for play for all children, including children with disabilities. A new doctoral thesis describes user and provider perspectives on play and inclusion. The social aspect is the key to creating an inclusive playground – that children can meet and play together. Involving the users in the design process is crucial.
Play is an important part of a child’s life. From an occupational therapy and occupational science perspective play it is viewed as a central occupation for children. Playgrounds are important arenas for play, but sometimes they have barriers that exclude children with disabilities. The aim of an inclusive playground is that children with disabilities can participate.
In a new doctoral thesis in Occupational therapy, Ines Wenger has examined inclusive playgrounds from the perspective of users and providers. According to her, the most important thing for creating an inclusive playground is to focus on the social aspect.
“It’s more important to design a playground where children can play together rather than focusing on the physical play equipment. The social environment needs to be the starting point”, says Ines Wenger.
Social inclusiveness important
Play value is an important parameter in the research. It describes the richness of experiences a certain play gives a child.
“The social aspects are very important for children’s experiences of play value. There is no difference between children with or without disabilities, they express the need for the same experiences. But children with disabilities are often excluded”, Ines Wenger continues.
The social inclusiveness of a playground is not only created by how inclusive the equipment is, but by the whole atmosphere. Things such as access to parking, public transport, restrooms, water and shade contribute to creating a welcoming atmosphere.
“Including nature also provides play value and contribute to a welcoming environment. This is especially important for cities. A tree, sand, water, a log or a stone can have a lot of play value”, Ines Wenger says.
Adults do not always know what children wants
To design a playground that is inclusive and provides play value, involving different user groups at an early stage is important.
“We as adults think we know what children need, but sometimes our interpretations are different from how the children describe their experiences and the meaning play has for them. A co-design process gives you an insight to what is important for the user. And it could also be a way to bring the community together.”
In her research, Ines Wenger has also looked at how to apply universal design to playgrounds. Universal design means making environments or products accessible and usable to anyone regardless of special needs.
“To me, applying universal design to playgrounds is the ultimate goal. This would mean that any playground would be inclusive”, says Ines Wenger.
The doctoral thesis is a part of the international project P4Play External link, opens in new window., and Ines Wenger has been associated to Luleå University of Technology, University College Cork and Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
Collecting data with children and experts in universal design have been conducted mostly in Ireland and Switzerland. A systematic review on qualitative literature included studies from a broad range of countries around the world, including Sweden.
Luleå playground as example
Maria Prellwitz is Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Luleå University of Technology and supervisor for the doctoral thesis. In her research she has also investigated playground accessibility.
“In Swedish playgrounds, you can find more or less elements of accessibility. The playground in Stadsparken in central Luleå is an example of a playground that is inclusive to a large extent. But there are also examples of newly built Swedish playgrounds that are not inclusive at all, that for example completely exclude children in wheelchairs.”
She emphasizes the importance of the conclusions in the doctoral thesis.
“Involving those who will use the playground at an early stage of playground design, and focusing on the social aspects is important to give all children the opportunity to play.”
Contact
Maria Prellwitz
- Associate Professor, International Coordinator
- 0920-493861
- maria.prellwitz@ltu.se
- Maria Prellwitz
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