Junk Playground v Designer Playground!
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I have read an interesting article http://www.treehugger.com/culture/junk-playgrounds-show-value-free-play-kids-plas-madoc-guardian.htmlon "Junk Playgrounds", indicated in the this picture.
The current norm in kid's playground looks something like this,
Both have merits but I think the 'Junk Playground' encourages innovation and imagination in kids. Maybe there there could be a compromise between the two types of playgrounds.
Food for thought? What do the designers here think?
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As a Kid a few planks, a tire and rope was all one needed, endless ideas and occasional broken bone or two.
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Without broken bones - it never happens - I agree. The new ones seems boring after a while.
See it with my grandchild -
Behind where I lived as a boy we had a field with a steep slopping section. Great fun was had using large sheets of cardboard sliding down, legs first and head first by the more adventurous ..... the fun resulted in the odd bruise or two:D
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I remember as a kid growing up in the 70's all I needed was a soccer ball (one bounce was the game of choice) a tennis ball and cricket bat, and a shopping cart and vacation was taken care of. I can hardly remember what the interior of my home looked like as i was outside most of the time
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Those were the times...
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The only thing I feel it's different here is that I don't feel safe anymore of leaving kids on the street without someone watching them. There's just too much news around of kidnapping and human traffic.
For the rest of stuff... even the materials and colors of the kid's playground are wrong, specially when compared with the beautiful materials you find in the image above...
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@jql said:
The only thing I feel it's different here is that I don't feel safe anymore of leaving kids on the street without someone watching them. There's just too much news around of kidnapping and human traffic.
For the rest of stuff... even the materials and colors of the kid's playground are wrong, specially when compared with the beautiful materials you find in the image above...
Yeah, thats the problem, how to let kids have freedom to play and be reasonably safe. Years ago when communities were more tightly knit this was not a major problem but today that community spirit is all but gone in many places.
On the other hand with the aid of cheap GPS devices in the form of tags and watches etc its now possible to monitor the whereabouts of your kids on your smartphone and get warning when little Johnny has stayed beyond the boundary.
Maybe this lack of freedom is why video games are so popular with kids, a sort of virtual freedom!
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There's a few interesting ones to be found here.
http://roadtrippers.com/blog/the-worlds-worst-playgrounds-are-where-fun-goes-to-die
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Box, that link was a laugh
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I think the funniest part is the comments from people that think they are built that way.
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Of course we know junkyards are built that way! It's in your mind to make it a playground though! The problem is the redish stuff on the bottom that it's built that way, will stay that way, and it would be best thrown at the junkyard... Why do all kids stuff have to look bad?
If designers would look at the problem from the right angle they would see that parents are the ones looking at junkyar... sorry playgrounds, the kids are the ones using them. So you should make playgrounds stylish while challenging and fun so adults can be glad looking at them and kids can feel the confidence of having faced grown up challenges, not kids... stuff from a disney cartoon...
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A related story from way way downunder.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-10/school-playgrounds-revert-back-to-good-old-days-in-southern-tas/5803840?WT.ac=localnews_hobart
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Nice one Box!
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