Robinson Island – a very special playground
During the Child in the City World Conference in Vienna, there were a number of interesting field trips to child-friendly places across the city. In this article, Simon Walter who was the tour guide recounts...Read more
Child in the City: Risk, consultation and the future
Robin Sutcliffe the founder and chair of Sutcliffe Play shares his reflections on the 2018 edition of the Child in the City World Conference. At the opening session of Child in the City (CitC) we were told...Read more
‘Children belong in the suburbs’: with more families in apartments, such attitudes are changing
What is it that most influences where families make a home? Questions around affordability, children’s facilities and lifestyles all play a part in the decision-making process. It’s also an issue which this month’s Child in...Read more
Playable cities: a model and a toolkit
We need a new approach to public spaces if we really want to stimulate outdoor play for kids. This approach doesn’t start with picking some elements from catalogues of play equipment companies. We should start...Read more
Why playtime is an essential part of childhood development
Children’s lives are overscheduled now more than ever before and all those activities are taking a bite out of their free playtime. By shortchanging playtime, children miss out on emotional, social, physical, and cognitive benefits. In some...Read more
A perfect play space for children and…chickens
‘Never work with children or animals’, said the legendary WC Fields. Tongue-in-cheek he may have been, but clearly it is not a philosophy shared by those who champion the benefits for children of city farms. From...Read more
Grants reward US designers combining play with daily life
Creators of unusual play initiatives in cities in Michigan and New York states are hoping to benefit from a series of grants worth $1 million US dollars. The funding is being provided through the Play Everywhere...Read more
The introvert playground
An educational art and design-initiative named ‘A secret club’ builds playgrounds that keep the introvert in mind. The goal is to pique the user’s imagination. Because if play takes place inside your head, everything is a...Read more
Scotland ‘gets it right’ for children
“Access to play is not equally distributed in Scotland” (McKendrick, 2016). As Chief Executive of Play Scotland, Marguerite Hunter Blair would be anyone’s first choice to share the expansive work it is doing to support...Read more
A history of play provision in the UK
Raymond Wills entered play work as a Community Service Volunteer in the early 1960s. Throughout his time in play work, he was an active member of numerous play bodies, Play Councils, regional play associations and national...Read more
A happier childhood: Ahmedabad initiative is reuniting kids with playgrounds
Gadgets and indoor play have resulted in the child of today missing out on the joys of nature and outdoor life experienced by previous generations, says Indian educationalist and aProCh founder Kiran Bir Sethi. aProCh (a...Read more
Do ‘screaming children’ in playgrounds ruin neighbourhood parks?
It’s a fine winter morning and you’ve just made a cup of tea. You’re warming your hands around the mug and gazing at the trees behind your house that sway as birds hop along the...Read more
South Delhi rolling out sensory parks for children
Children in southern Delhi are to benefit from a new initiative that will see local parks revamped to create new and challenging ‘sensory spaces’. The first such facility should be up and running by the end...Read more
Delivering a ‘play plan’ for Dublin’s children
Dublin’s all-inclusive policy to put young people at the heart of the decision-making process has enabled the city to truly address the ‘play’ issue for its youngsters. It’s a dynamic approach that child professionals at...Read more