Open access play needs more support, says chair of Play England
In our second interview with contributors to next week’s Child in the City international seminar on children’s play in the urban environment, Nicola Butler, director of Hackney Play Association and chair of Play England, calls for...Read more
Why US playgrounds must emulate the UK and Europe
Meghan Talarowski is the founder and director of Studio Ludo, a non-profit research, design and advocacy company in Philadelphia, USA. Ahead of next week’s Child in the City international seminar on children’s play in the urban...Read more
Children’s need to play demands a long term strategy
Ahead of the Child in the City international seminar on children’s play to be held in London on 6-7 November, we feature the third and final part of an adapted extract from Policy for Play by Adrian...Read more
“After today, let nobody say it’s not possible”.
In this multimedia report of a community festival in South London, Rob Hopkins celebrates how the joy of a child playing in a previously unloved public space became a catalyst to transform not just the...Read more
IPA conference highlights play sector challenges
In the second part of this reflection on themes of the IPA world conference in Calgary, Robin Sutcliffe identifies funding cuts and parental anxiety as major obstacles to the aspirations of play advocates, leaving providers...Read more
Space for children’s play must be central to a vision for the public realm
Ahead of the forthcoming Child in the City event on Children’s Play in the Urban Environment, in this second of a three-part essay adapted from his book, Policy for Play (2015), Adrian Voce sets out the rationale...Read more
Policymakers should look again at children’s play
Looking forward to the International Seminar on Children’s Play in the Urban Environment, to be held in London on 6-7 November, in this first of a three-part essay adapted from his 2015 book Policy for...Read more
How to talk to parents about ‘risky play’
The term ‘risky play’ has become a banner for the movement to allow children more freedom to play within environments that meet their need to be adventurous, challenge themselves and learn how to navigate the world rather...Read more
The child as an indicator species for cities: reflections on Philadelphia
13-years ago, the British writer and researcher Tim Gill coined the term ‘battery-reared children’ to warn of the impact of poor spatial planning on modern childhoods. He has often spoken since of the need to see...Read more
Community play on the estates of East London – Part 2
In this second extract from his evaluation report of the Community Play Programme in Tower Hamlets, Tim Gill finds that, despite the absence of national play policy, the local play association was able to address the current public...Read more
Popping-up for adventure play in Canada
The UK-based charity, Pop-Up Adventure Play has announced that it is heading to Canada for a series of workshops and play support sessions ahead of this September’s Triennial world conference of the International Play Association...Read more
Parties for Play?
The UN (2016) has been clear – and a range of evidence confirms – that the UK government needs to commit to doing more for children’s play. This should include: protecting play space through a...Read more
Inspiring playgrounds where children need them most
With policy and funding for children around the world ever more narrowly focused on their formal education, often at the expense even of school playgrounds, Victoria Derr looks at a project that supports local communities to redress...Read more
A rare glimpse into a messy oasis of adventure play
In his recent blog, Tim Gill hails the freely-available online release of an abbreviated version of Erin Davis’ film about the The Land, an adventure playground in North Wales, for its vivid depiction of the magical messiness...Read more