For this blog post, I wanted to create a small personal dictionary that I can return to whenever I feel a little lost in my research process. After the Christmas break, I decided to focus more on the early stages of playground design and, on how children can be included in this process. This dictionary serves as a way to clarify my thoughts, organize key concepts, and guide me when the topic starts to feel overwhelming.
I will try to write down some key words and explore their meanings, both in a general sense and in relation to my own research topic.
Creativity
- Creativity refers to the ability to generate original ideas, actions, or interpretations.
- In playgrounds, creativity is supported by open-ended environments that allow children to use space and objects in multiple, unpredictable ways rather than following fixed instructions.
Curiosity
- Curiosity is the intrinsic motivation to explore, discover, and ask questions.
- Playgrounds that stimulate curiosity often include elements of surprise, variation, and challenge, encouraging children to investigate their surroundings freely.
Open-Ended Play
- Open-ended play describes play experiences without predefined outcomes or single correct ways of use.
- Design elements such as loose parts, natural materials, and flexible structures enable children to shape their own play narratives.
Risky Play
- Risky play involves thrilling and challenging activities that include a degree of physical or emotional risk.
- Research shows that manageable risk is essential for children’s confidence, resilience, and motor development, even though it is often minimized in traditional playground design.
Standardization
- Standardization refers to the use of repetitive, regulated design solutions that prioritize safety and efficiency.
- While standardization ensures consistency, it often limits diversity, creativity, and local adaptation in playground environments.
Adult-Centered Design
- Adult-centered design occurs when spaces for children are designed primarily based on adult assumptions, fears, and control needs rather than children’s actual experiences and behaviors.
Child-Centered Design
- Child-centered design places children’s needs, perspectives, and experiences at the core of the design process. It emphasizes observation, empathy, and participation rather than top-down decision-making.
Participatory Design
- Participatory design is an approach that actively involves users—in this case, children—in the design process. Through workshops, drawing activities, prototyping, or play-based methods, children contribute ideas and insights that shape the final design.
Co-Design
- Co-design is a collaborative process in which designers and users work together as equal partners.
- In playground design, co-design allows children to become co-creators rather than passive users.
Affordances
- Affordances describe the possible actions that an environment or object suggests to its users.
- A well-designed playground offers multiple affordances, allowing children to climb, hide, imagine, balance, or rest in different ways.
Inclusive Design
- Inclusive design ensures that playgrounds are accessible and meaningful for children of different abilities, ages, and backgrounds. Rather than designing separate solutions, inclusion aims to create shared play experiences.
Embodied Interaction
- Embodied interaction focuses on learning and interaction through the body.
- Playgrounds are inherently embodied environments, where movement, touch, balance, and spatial awareness shape children’s experiences.
References
Gill, T. (2007). No Fear: Growing Up in a Risk-Averse Society. London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Hart, R. (1992). Children’s Participation: From Tokenism to Citizenship. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
Brown, D. M. Y., Ross, T., Leo, J., Buliung, R. N., Shirazipour, C. H., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., & Arbour-Nicitopoulos, K. P. (2021). A Scoping Review of Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 2, 664595.
Lester, S., & Russell, W. (2010). Children’s Right to Play: An Examination of the Importance of Play in the Lives of Children Worldwide. Play England.
Nicholson, S. (1971). How NOT to Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts. Landscape Architecture, 62(1), 30–34.
Frost, J. L., Wortham, S. C., & Reifel, S. (2001). Play and Child Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the New Landscapes of Design. CoDesign, 4(1), 5–18.
Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded Edition). New York: Basic Books.
