February 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 66

Operations
Some Innovative Playground Design
Trends and Fundraising Resources
By Faith Munsell

ublic playgrounds are intended to be places where children can enjoy positive experiences that enhance their physical, mental and social well-being.
They also contribute to a sense of community and are a source of economic
growth for communities.

However, some challenges exist that
make playgrounds less than pleasurable:
safety concerns resulting from outdated
equipment, hazardous surfaces, such as
concrete or asphalt, lack of accessibility for children with disabilities and the
threat of crime (a growing concern), to
name a few. Funding shortages, the result of tightened budgets, only serve to
make matters worse.
Resolving these challenges requires
park and rec professionals to engage in
some out-of-the-box thinking. Fortunately, novel trends in design combined with
innovative approaches to playground use
and access to a variety of funding sourc-

Parks & Recreation

es are making playgrounds a place to
gather, play and stay.
Trends in Playground Design
Following are a few of the design trends
that are reinvigorating playgrounds:
Themed Playgrounds - Theme playgrounds continue to be a popular trend.
Whether they echo a medieval castle,
pirate ship or outer space, these creative,
holistic play spaces are breaking the
mold of traditional playgrounds to battle
ever-shrinking attention spans.
Take, for example, Morgan's Wonderland Inspiration Island Splash Park in
San Antonio, Texas, which carries a pi-

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rate theme. Believed to be the first-ever
waterpark built for people with disabilities, it allows children of all abilities
to pretend to set sail on a pirate ship or
search for buried treasure as they enjoy
keeping cool while playing in the sun.
Inclusive Playgrounds - One of the newest trends in playground concepts, inclusive playgrounds, goes beyond just accessibility (as the ADA defines the term) by
encouraging and enabling disabled and
non-disabled children alike to engage
with one another in play and discovery.
There are no " special needs " sections,
because the equipment is designed to
challenge all children.
ARISE at the Farm, an accessible, inclusive recreation center (http://nofault.
com/blog/project-spotlight-arise-at-thefarm-in-chittenango-new-york) on a 77acre working horse farm in Chittenango,
New York, is one example. It focuses on
the needs and interests of individuals
with disabilities in the Central New York
region. In addition to an all-inclusive
playground, the facility offers a variety
of recreational activities, including therapeutic horseback riding and an accessible fishing pond.
Adventure Playgrounds - Although they
may seem like a new idea, adventure
playgrounds originated in 1931 when
Danish landscaper and playground designer Carl T. Sørensen noticed that no
matter what he built, children seemed to
find new ways to play on his traditional playground equipment beyond its intended purposes. His resulting question
- What if children could be given raw materials to construct their own playgrounds?

February 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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