We are all familiar with the playground, and most adults would have fond memories of playing in them as children, meeting up with friends as teenagers, and taking our children to them as parents. Playgrounds have evolved over the decades, with changes in materials making them safer for a more extended period. The rusty iron and new robust plastics give a better and safer experience for the children who play on the apparatus within the playground.
Playground designers have a multitude of factors to consider when drawing up plans for playground design. The need to accommodate multiple age ranges to attract the widest band of children to use the playground is one factor, safety, and longevity within a budget. Low maintenance is an essential factor to bring the cost of providing a playground to a manageable margin.
One crucial factor is to make the playground inclusive. You may well ask, what is an inclusive playground? Not all children have the same ability and can therefore be limited on what equipment they can use within a playground. Inclusive playgrounds aim to have equipment that can be used by all abilities to help make a playground welcome for all.
Inclusive playgrounds strategy
Inclusive playgrounds should aim to incorporate the needs of children who may be limited by their mobility, sensory processing, or cognitive development. This can be achieved through accessible playground design with the provision of simple touch-focused play such as bells on a rope or simple shapes to identify on a vertical panel board. Inclusive apparatus should appeal to all senses with textures and shapes to feel and touch the outdoor green space.
This equipment needs to be tough to last the rigors thrown at them and should be constructed with bright colors and different textures. These can often be placed outside the playground to allow wheelchair access, maximizing the number of children who can gain access to them.
The equipment should have clearly defined paths to move between apparatus and give fewer mobile children the same opportunity to enjoy the challenge of using the equipment and to move between them freely. This prevents boredom and will encourage a repeat visit.
There are Outdoor playground equipment and Commercial playground equipment that can appeal to multiple senses and every price point which can then fit into budgets that do not have to be huge. The important thing is to design the playground so that it fits in with children of all abilities.
Planning a playground on paper allows for placing equipment in the most accessible and appropriate areas and ensures that spacing is appropriate and well-defined.
Longevity should also be considered; what happens if you need to resurface the area? What are the possible issues? Is the location flat, or do you need to add steps?
There are professionally certified experts in this field, and it is worth consulting one of them to make the most of your space and pick the correct equipment within your budget.
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