All-Access Play
From: Re:form

Designing more inclusive recreational spaces for kids

Increasingly, playscapes are incorporating what's known as inclusive design -
not only making equipment physically accessible to families of all
abilities, but also removing common social barriers. So often, disability
leads to peer isolation, and these places try to remedy that problem, with
structures and layouts designed to enable and encourage children to play with
each other.

The Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines for playgrounds center around
access for individuals in wheelchairs and with other mobility issues, but do
not address how to meet the needs of children with impaired hearing and
vision, developmental, cognitive, sensory or autism spectrum disorders.

"The playground is the first real classroom kids have. It's where you get to
know the people in your community, where you build your physical strength and
social skills," said Olenka Villarreal, founder of Magical Bridge, a $4
million inclusive playground scheduled to open in Palo Alto this December.
"Prejudices form when children aren't exposed to different kinds of kids. And
if you"re a kid that can’t get on the equipment, who can't get across the
sand, it sends the message that someone didn’t think about you when designing
the park."

Villarreal took up the fight for greater accessibility and inclusion in
playground design.

George Zisiadis, a San Francisco artist and designer, specializes in
interactive installations. For Magical Bridge, he designed motion sensors
that set off audio recordings of people's feet walking through different
conditions - the squishing sound of mud, the slosh of water, and the crunch
of leaves or snow.

There's also the principal of "coolest play," meaning the structure that will
generate the most buzz should feature the most inclusive design. Exciting
slides should have ramps to enable access; net webbing should be easy to use
at ground level and become more difficult higher up; gliders should enable
children with disabilities and friends to participate.

Paige Johnson, founder and editor of Playscapes, a website showcasing amazing
designs from around the world, has found playgrounds designed specifically
for the disabled to be "distressingly artificial," constructed largely with
plastic and metal. 

Read the entire article at:
https://medium.com/re-form/all-access-play-52fad54b1009

Links:
Playscapes
http://www.play-scapes.com/

Magical Bridge Playground
http://www.magicalbridge.org/index.html

George Zisiadis
http://www.georgezisiadis.com/

Submitted by Olenka Villarreal