06 Aug INSIGHTS: Childs Play – Enabling play in Urban Settings
Posted at 11:54h
in Healthy Community
The right to play is embedded in international conventions, and the Child-Friendly Cities movement is promoting principles that enable play.
Providing ‘play spaces’ is only part of the story. At the recent Green Pavlova conference Dr Wendy Russell said, ‘play can emerge whenever conditions allow’. It is the conditions for playfulness that designers seek to create.
Understanding the nature of play, valuing green spaces in urban environments, knowing the characteristics of place, and creating spaces that are flexible are all key elements to making play spaces that work for children. Central to this process is listening to and working with the children and young people in the process of creating space.