Landscapes of Play: Supporting Child Development THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Landscape Architecture in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kirk H. Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture The Ohio State University 2012 Master's Examination Committee: Jesus J. Georg Copyright by Kirk H. Hiatt 2012 Abstract Playgrounds are designed to give children space to explore and develop into well- rounded individuals, yet a growing body of research in the fields of education, pediatrics, child psychology, architecture, and landscape architecture suggests that the current model of prefabricated playground design is woefully underperforming this expectation.
There is an additional body of research that points to the developmental capabilities of nature- focused playscapes. This research shows that such playscapes outperform the dominant prefabricated playgrounds in aiding the child’s holistic cognitive, social, emotional and motor development. Landscape architects are perfectly situated to explore nature-based trends in playground design, as they are specifically trained to create dynamic outdoor environments for people. (Herrington, Lesmeister, Nicholls, & Stefiuk, 7 C's, n.) As more research points to the importance of play in nature to a child’s holistic development, playground design that integrates natural elements and the landscape will become ever more relevant.
This paper reviews the history of playgrounds in North America, and the current criticisms of contemporary playground design. The focus is to show how this research can be synthesized into a design for a specific play setting in Columbus, Ohio. ii Dedication This work is dedicated to my mother and life-long Montessori educator Lorrie Hiatt. iii Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge my thesis committee for their invaluable input and guidance in helping me develop my thesis paper.
I would also like to acknowledge the gracious support that I received from Christie W. Stover, Director of the Program for Young Children (PYC) at the Columbus School for Girls, playground liaison and educator Kasey Neer (PYC) and the whole teaching staff of the PYC. Their combined educational experience, criticism and partnership enriched my thesis work to a level I could not have achieved without their help. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the support and editing prowess of my loving wife, Alison, without whom none of this would have been possible.Drawing Merit Scholarship, Minneapolis College of Art & Design 2006.
Drawing, Minneapolis College of Art & Design June 2010 .Faculty Award, Knowlton School of Architecture, Ohio State University 2010.Research Assistant, Professor Sarah Cowles, Urban Ruderal Ecologies, Ohio State University 2010 - 2012 .Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Landscape Architecture, Ohio State University June 2011 .International Honor Society of Landscape Architecture, Sigma Lamda Alpha, Ohio State University May 2012 .ASLA, Honor Award Fields of Study Major Field: Landscape Architecture v Table of Contents Abstract. v List of Figures. viviii Chapter 1: Introduction .Error! Bookmark not defined.3 Chapter 3: Brief History of the Playground. 24 Chapter 4: Literature Review.
35 vi Mark Dudek. Hendricks & Nature Playgrounds. 44 Safety Standards, Litigation & Design. 47 Richard Louv & Parent Culture.
49 Chapter 5: Evidence Based Design. 66 Appendix A: Client Observation and Workshop Documentation. 69 Appendix B: Site Analysis and Preliminary Design Process. 79 vii List of Figures Figure 1.
Client & Thesis Timeline. Group Drawing with Faculty and Students of the PYC. Workshop #2 Preliminary Design Presentation to Parents and Faculty. Brief Timeline of Playgrounds in America.
Existing Site Analysis. Sketch of Sun Dial. Group Drawing with faculty and students of the PYC. Email Establishing Playground Committee Roles and Responsibilities.
71 Figure 14 Email Establishing Playground Committee Roles and Responsibilities Cont. 74 Figure 16 Workshop #2 Agenda. Parent Design Feedback on Sticky Notes. 77 Figure 18 Parent Design Feedback on Sticky Notes (detail).
Site Plan - Construction Limits and Existing Conditions. 88 Figure 28 Character Analysis 9. Site Shadow Study Throughout the Year. Landform Study Models Using Sand and Paper.
Design One Presentation Board Workshop #2 Parent/Teacher Feedback. Design Two Presentation Board Workshop #2 Parent/Teacher Feedback. 94 ix Chapter 1: Introduction The purpose of this paper is to take a critical look at the dominant form of playground equipment known as prefabricated design and see how well it supported holistic child development. Holistic child development refers to developing the child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and motor skills.
Play is an integral part of this early development in children. It is where they get their first chances at developing the skills so important to future academic success, and how they learn to be fully independent people. Through play children learn creative problem-solving, social engagement, organization, leadership, observation, cooperation, self-awareness, and self-regulation. Though in order to practice these skills, children require dynamic environments that offer challenge, invention, exploration, discovery, adventure, and above all manipulation (Burdette & Whitaker, 2005).
Unfortunately, the ubiquitous prefabricated playground equipment that dominates playgrounds in the United States is unable to fully meet these demands because they are overly prescriptive, static and unchallenging. The average American playground contains any combination of climbing, sliding, and swinging apparatuses held together with bridging and decking. While all of these elements are important features, they are limited to only challenging a child’s motor skill development. In addition to this narrow range of 1 challenges, playgrounds have been reduced to the most basic level of challenge so that the youngest of children can be served at the expense of the older child’s experience.
This is due mostly out of fear that the younger children will hurt themselves if the equipment is not built for their accessibility level. This fear of injury, combined with America’s system of tort laws, has stripped playgrounds of everything that was once compelling and challenging (Sandseter, 2007). More importantly, these well-intentioned regulations have crippled innovation in the field. Playground design was once under the purview of the architect, landscape architect, and designer, and enjoyed a period of diverse innovation during the first 60 years of the 20th century.
Yet now the field is dominated by large manufacturing companies who are driven by regulations and market forces to create ever safer products. Because of the industrial mass production of these playgrounds, they do not evoke any of the character inherent in environment, nor any of the qualities of the community within which they are placed. They become ambassadors of “no-where-ness.” However, there are those who challenge the prefabricated model, asking if all this safety is necessary, and positing that it may even be detrimental to child development. Child psychologists and pediatric professionals are beginning to research the effects increased safety on the playground has had on child development.
Some researchers are even beginning to question if children require risk as part of a healthy childhood (Burdette & Whitaker, 2005). 2 Others have pointed to the disparity between the high cost of prefabricated equipment and its anemic payoff. In her seminal 7C’s study, Susan Herrington found that from her sampling of day care centers over a five year period in Vancouver, B. that the traditional playground equipment went unused 87% of the time, while only 3% of the time did children use the equipment as intended for use (Herrington, Lesmeister, Nicholls, & Stefiuk, 7 C's).
Most prefabricated equipment can easily range from $40,000 - $400,000, which is a lot to pay for so little in return. Along with the monetary price, schools pay a high price in space when they purchase prefabricated playground equipment. In Ohio, according to State Revised Law 5101:2-12-14, every piece of equipment requires six feet of “dead fall” space that is clear of any obstructions, so that if a child falls they won’t hurt themselves. This is not a bad law to have and it makes sense, yet it does significantly limit the way children can use that space, limiting it to the manufacturers design alone, which we have already learned is used only 3% of the time.
Along with these criticisms, there is a growing activist effort in the United States, spearheaded by the journalist and author Richard Louv and his nonprofit, No Child Left Inside, inspired by Louv’s bookThe Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder According to Louv, “nature-deficit disorder” is a symptom of a complex web of social and technological factors that are affecting child development. The growing pandemic of childhood obesity, a rise in cases of ADD, ADHD, depression and general anxiety in children, can all, according to Louv, be attributed to a general shift 3 in parenting culture, a rise in media technology, and a lack of access to nature. American parents, educated by shock news and “Amber Alerts”, are fearful of what Louv calls the “bogeyman syndrome.” This fear, in combination with excessive amounts of media consumption and “helicopter parenting”, is helping to fuel “nature-deficit disorder” (Louv, 2008). Helicopter parenting is a colloquialism referring to parents who pay extremely close attention to their children experiences and problems, hovering over them as if they were a helicopter.
There is also a growing body of research exploring the ways nature may help to mitigate physiological and psychological problems in children. According to psychologist, Sebastiano Santostefano, “nature has the power to shape the psyche” and “playing outdoors, whether along a river or in an alleyway, is how a kid works through issues” (as cited in Louv, 2008 p.53) Other studies, such as the work by pediatrician Hillary L. Burdette, have shown that playground environments which encourage free play help children towards their holistic development, rather than isolating just their motor skills (Burdette & Whittaker, 2006) (Sandseter, 2007). In Susan Herrington’s work, she has explored how the elements of the garden and landscape can begin to re- shape the way we think about spaces for young children to play (Herrington, 1997) This paper attempts to understand how schoolyards for preschools and kindergartens can better support holistic child development through better design.
It takes 4 a critical look at the environments created by the prefabricated playground, and challenges its dominance as the best solution. This paper examines contemporary views in educational philosophy, playground history, and design criticism and research from the fields of education, child psychology, pediatrics, architecture and landscape architecture. It is organized into chapters focused on methodology, a brief history of playgrounds, a literature review, an evidence based design and a conclusion. The contribution to the field of landscape architecture is to synthesis this research into a model design a specific play setting in Columbus, Ohio.
Terminology Playscapes – In the context of this paper, playscapes refer to a play environment that is geared toward supporting various layers of activity interchangeably, and designed specifically for its context. It is used in contrast with the word playground, which in this paper will be used to refer to the dominant prefabricated form of play environments. Free Play – Unstructured play that allows the child’s imagination to shape the play experience, often accompanied with loose objects such as sticks, leaves, rocks, tubes, bowls, sheets, scarfs, etc. 5 Outdoor Classroom – Using the outdoors as an extension of the learning environment beyond just a space to run.
The outdoor classroom is also a space where children can discover the changing seasons, animals, smells of plants, shadows, to name just a few examples. Holistic Development – Developing the pantheon of skills required for a child to become an healthy individual. Includes cognitive, social, emotional and motor skills. 6 Chapter 2: Methodology The research methodology employed in this work was based on three broad approaches.
All three are based on a qualitative method of research that included a review of the literature surrounding playground design and child development, direct observation of a client, and two workshops working directly with the same client. The literature review began before undertaking the client project in order to allow the research to drive the design decisions. The real life client and playground involved in this work have allowed for this thesis to be a true interface between theory and practice (fig.