London, Ontario, is absolutely riddled with parks. Southwest London alone has more than a hundred little parks.Yet, despite the great number of parks, duplication of play equipment is minimal. Swings, slides and monkey bars are the only pieces of equipment to be found in almost every location.
When I was a boy, more then six decades ago, swings, slides and monkey bar were just about it. Everything was made of rolled steel, cast iron, metal chains and large boards. The ground under the pieces of equipment was often paved. Injuries were common
In the mid 1960s, architect Richard Dattner designed the iconic and very popular Adventure Playground. These often looked dangerous but it was that very look that made them safe, or so the theory went. Kids recognized the dangers and this caused kids to be more cautious.
Three and a half decades later the Adventure Playground fell out of style. The park near my home was once an Adventure Playground. It was demolished around the turn of the century. Why? I was deemed too dangerous.
Which bring us to today's designs, which are interactive and inclusive while encouraging role playing, discovery and critical thinking. Social skills are accented: interaction, sharing, and participation. At least, these are the claims.
Yet despite decades of design improvements, my three granddaughters all gravitate to the swings, slides and monkey bars.
At later date, we will take another look at children's playgrounds. I find it very interesting that equipment designs, driven by an almost universally accepted philosophy of play, are almost the same whether the park is in Canada or Romania.
1 comment:
Quite a memory of childhood. Admittedly, because I've never had kids, I haven't really paid attention to playground equipment here.
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