How to Design a Community Playground
Every child should have access to a safe, enjoyable playground. The act of play is a type of constructive learning that is essential to a child's development. This how-to guide will walk you through important playground design requirements followed by general design ideas to help you get started in making your playground dream a reality!
Focus on Development
A playground creates an environment that allows children of all ages to engage in recreational activity that results in enhancing a child’s cognitive and physical abilities. It is a form of constructive learning that encourages free thinking and aids in the development of better problem-solving and communication skills.
Child development is the most important aspect of playground design. Your playground should be all encompassing, offering an environment where children can be involved in both active and passive play. Every playground should likely have:
*Brachiating: This form of play should only be included for school-aged children for safety reasons.
Child development is the most important aspect of playground design. Your playground should be all encompassing, offering an environment where children can be involved in both active and passive play. Every playground should likely have:
- a natural green space where children can run and be active
- a safe noninteractive space where children can just sit and be independent
- To encourage physical development, play components such as swinging, climbing, sliding, brachiating*, balancing and spinning are a few strong elements that one may include in their playground design.
- The use of green space for free play along with the use of the composite structure allows the children to build interpersonal and social skills as they begin to gain an understanding of their surroundings and those around them. Through working together to organize a game of tag or taking turns on the slide, children are more likely to become more empathetic as they learn to control their emotions and become comfortable in social settings.
- Interactive learning through games such as tic-tac-toe or puzzles encourage educational development as children challenge themselves and engage in problem solving. Other educational play elements like musical instruments or hands-on stations (i.e. sandboxes, excavation sites) encourage personal creative growth and offer ample opportunities of learning.
*Brachiating: This form of play should only be included for school-aged children for safety reasons.
Stick Close to Home
In addition, identifying the “soul of the community” is another important design aspect. When designing a community playground, the kids, fellow neighbors and friends are those who would be most knowledgeable and provide the most insight towards representing what makes up their community in the overall design.
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“The soul of the community is emphasizing the uniqueness in each community and what makes it special” (Bergeron et al). |
The following list was compiled from students in BE 1252 at LSU demonstrating ideas on how one can implement the “soul of the community” in their design:
- a canvas or mural depicting art that reflects an important moment in your community’s history
- refurbished play element from previous playground that holds meaning
- interactive garden where children can be part of a project with their fellow peers and parents
- themed playground components that depict the surrounding environment (i.e. forest, bayou, desert themed equipment)
- tailoring playground to the area’s language and culture (including signs in both Spanish and English)
Stay Safe
When designing a playground, there are safety guidelines and recommendations listed in the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook [1] and a number of standards published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM [2], that must be followed. The following link attached includes many ASTM standards that deal with public playgrounds, home playgrounds, surfacing, playground accessibility, and playground fences: https://blog.ansi.org/2016/04/astm-playground-standards/#gref
Below you will find four important playground requirements that initiate the design step of your own community playground.
Although these four requirements do not involve all aspects of playground design, they provide a good start.
1. Accessibility: Approximately 50% of the playground design needs to be all inclusive; being accessible to children with disabilities following the Americans with Disabilities Act [3] (i.e. if you have 8 play components, at least 4 needs to be accessible to all children)
A. Appropriate surfacing (surfacing: shock absorbent material that is placed in the use zone)
B. Transfer stations, ramps
C. Ground level components
2. Age-Appropriate: Guidelines of play components must adhere to specific age groups, following guidelines written in the CPSC and ASTM
A. Toddlers (6 months through 23 months of age)
B. Pre-school aged children (2 years through 5 years of age)
C. School-aged children (5 years through 12 years of age)
3. Safety: Careful consideration must be taken for each individual piece of equipment as well as the overall layout of the playground to reduce the risk of injury. These guidelines are intended to eliminate any potential hazards that can cause serious injuries or deaths. The following are four main hazard patterns founded to result in hospital related injuries:
1. Falls: leading cause of injury due to the height of playground equipment and lack of protective surfacing underneath
2. Entanglements: when a child’s piece of clothing or loose item around their neck gets caught on a playground component
3. Entrapment: an opening on a playground that may lead to a child’s head or body part getting stuck
4. Collision: impact with playground equipment or with one another
Surfacing and Use Zones:
A. Protective Surfacing in the use zone must be shock absorbent (i.e. reducing force of impact)
a. Refer to section 2.4 in the CPSC that elaborates on surfacing
B. Use Zones are areas under and around playground equipment where a child would be expected to land when exiting or falling off the equipment. (Location of equipment is important because certain equipment requires specific use zones.)
4. Playground Layout: Recommendations for equipment locations
A. “Adjacent components on composite structures should be complementary”
B. “Slide exits should be located in an uncongested area of the playground.”
C. “Moving equipment, such as swings and merry-go-rounds, should be located toward a corner, side, or edge of the play area."
Below you will find four important playground requirements that initiate the design step of your own community playground.
Although these four requirements do not involve all aspects of playground design, they provide a good start.
1. Accessibility: Approximately 50% of the playground design needs to be all inclusive; being accessible to children with disabilities following the Americans with Disabilities Act [3] (i.e. if you have 8 play components, at least 4 needs to be accessible to all children)
A. Appropriate surfacing (surfacing: shock absorbent material that is placed in the use zone)
B. Transfer stations, ramps
C. Ground level components
2. Age-Appropriate: Guidelines of play components must adhere to specific age groups, following guidelines written in the CPSC and ASTM
A. Toddlers (6 months through 23 months of age)
B. Pre-school aged children (2 years through 5 years of age)
C. School-aged children (5 years through 12 years of age)
3. Safety: Careful consideration must be taken for each individual piece of equipment as well as the overall layout of the playground to reduce the risk of injury. These guidelines are intended to eliminate any potential hazards that can cause serious injuries or deaths. The following are four main hazard patterns founded to result in hospital related injuries:
1. Falls: leading cause of injury due to the height of playground equipment and lack of protective surfacing underneath
2. Entanglements: when a child’s piece of clothing or loose item around their neck gets caught on a playground component
3. Entrapment: an opening on a playground that may lead to a child’s head or body part getting stuck
4. Collision: impact with playground equipment or with one another
Surfacing and Use Zones:
A. Protective Surfacing in the use zone must be shock absorbent (i.e. reducing force of impact)
a. Refer to section 2.4 in the CPSC that elaborates on surfacing
B. Use Zones are areas under and around playground equipment where a child would be expected to land when exiting or falling off the equipment. (Location of equipment is important because certain equipment requires specific use zones.)
4. Playground Layout: Recommendations for equipment locations
A. “Adjacent components on composite structures should be complementary”
B. “Slide exits should be located in an uncongested area of the playground.”
C. “Moving equipment, such as swings and merry-go-rounds, should be located toward a corner, side, or edge of the play area."
Now that we have a better understanding of important playground requirements and themes, to continue on we have prepared general design ideas that will serve as a guide for you! Click here to browse through them.
While designing a playground can get very exciting, another important element to take into consideration is your playground budget. Below we will take you through an example of a budget breakdown where we aim to maximize the forms of play while minimizing costs.
Budget Breakdown
General categories in a playground budget
- Equipment - Surfacing - Border Ramps -Installation
- Freight - Borders - Supervision -Additional materials (i.e. paint, concrete)
- Equipment - Surfacing - Border Ramps -Installation
- Freight - Borders - Supervision -Additional materials (i.e. paint, concrete)
This is an example of the overall layout of the playground, for both preschool and school aged children, placement of the swings and the ADA-compliant walkway in relation to where the parking lot is located. The ADA-compliant walkway is placed from the parking lot to the school aged composite providing a clear path to and from. This walkway includes curb ramps that allow children in wheelchairs to easily enter/exit the play areas. The swings were placed closest to the parking lot and to the side because it is recommended that moving equipment is located towards the corner of a play area to reduce the possibilities of collision related injuries. The school aged composite structure and the preschool area are distinctly separated in order to differentiate between the two due to age requirements of certain play components.
III. Swings Budget Breakdown
IV. ADA-Compliant Walkway Budget Breakdown
Shading on Playgrounds
Why is shading important?
I. Protection from Heat Exposure
Heat from the sun is at its peak from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with most playgrounds having minimum shading over the equipment. Exposure to intense ultraviolet waves from the sun can cause the children to overheat and potentially lead to severe health problems. Implementing shade on playgrounds will allow children to remain active for longer periods of time, keeping surrounding areas 20 degrees cooler according to a recent study conducted by the National Program for Playground Safety (“Research”).
The CPSC recommends including play structures such as elevated platforms that provide shade below and/or natural means of shading to reduce the risk of heat exposure (CPSC).
II. Increasing Lifetime of Equipment
Constant sun exposure to playground equipment can result in cracking, deformation and discoloration of the plastic and corrosion of metal resulting in a hazardous environment for the children while playing. Overhead shading protects the equipment from the harmful ultraviolet waves prolonging its life expectancy.
III. Protection from Weather and Regulation of Temperature
In times of extreme weather, such as hailstorms, shading structures are made up of materials that best shield the playground from receiving any resulting damage. On sunny days, playground shades prevent the equipment from overheating, regulating the temperature of the playground equipment. This minimizes serious injuries that may occur from touching hot materials such as metal and plastic.
Two types of shading:
1. Artificial: man-made canopy like structures that cover the top of your playground reducing the amount of sun exposure. Pros to this type of shading are the ability of these structures to cover an entire play structure and, in addition, are easy to maintain. These large shading structure act as protection from elements such as wind, hail, rain and snow and on sunny days keep the play area cooler for the children. A con with installing artificial shading are their high expenses.
Click Here to see examples of artificial shading.
2. Natural: foliage options for natural shading (i.e. trees). When designing a playground, it is important to find an ideal location that deem fits to place a playground, and, with this, it is at one’s advantage to find a location that already has large trees that could be used for shading. However, a con to natural shading is the maintenance required to keep up with the debris that falls off the tree along with limb trimming to make sure that there aren’t any accessible for children to grab.
Click Here to see examples of natural shading.
I. Protection from Heat Exposure
Heat from the sun is at its peak from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with most playgrounds having minimum shading over the equipment. Exposure to intense ultraviolet waves from the sun can cause the children to overheat and potentially lead to severe health problems. Implementing shade on playgrounds will allow children to remain active for longer periods of time, keeping surrounding areas 20 degrees cooler according to a recent study conducted by the National Program for Playground Safety (“Research”).
The CPSC recommends including play structures such as elevated platforms that provide shade below and/or natural means of shading to reduce the risk of heat exposure (CPSC).
II. Increasing Lifetime of Equipment
Constant sun exposure to playground equipment can result in cracking, deformation and discoloration of the plastic and corrosion of metal resulting in a hazardous environment for the children while playing. Overhead shading protects the equipment from the harmful ultraviolet waves prolonging its life expectancy.
III. Protection from Weather and Regulation of Temperature
In times of extreme weather, such as hailstorms, shading structures are made up of materials that best shield the playground from receiving any resulting damage. On sunny days, playground shades prevent the equipment from overheating, regulating the temperature of the playground equipment. This minimizes serious injuries that may occur from touching hot materials such as metal and plastic.
Two types of shading:
1. Artificial: man-made canopy like structures that cover the top of your playground reducing the amount of sun exposure. Pros to this type of shading are the ability of these structures to cover an entire play structure and, in addition, are easy to maintain. These large shading structure act as protection from elements such as wind, hail, rain and snow and on sunny days keep the play area cooler for the children. A con with installing artificial shading are their high expenses.
Click Here to see examples of artificial shading.
2. Natural: foliage options for natural shading (i.e. trees). When designing a playground, it is important to find an ideal location that deem fits to place a playground, and, with this, it is at one’s advantage to find a location that already has large trees that could be used for shading. However, a con to natural shading is the maintenance required to keep up with the debris that falls off the tree along with limb trimming to make sure that there aren’t any accessible for children to grab.
Click Here to see examples of natural shading.
For more information about the process of building a playground, find our How to Build Guide here.
2021 Kothar Abdelghani