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SARAH LITTLE | THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON PLAYGROUND DESIGN. Sarah Little
THE TRADITIONAL PLAYGROUND
Assistant Professor
Pros: Designates space for children; encourages a high level of physical activity; creates an iconic identity for a park; potentially facilitates inclusion of children with mobility limitations. Cons: Has a high installation cost; excludes nature (stems, seeds, pods, things that kids like to play with); doesn’t account for all types of disabilities, for instance ASD.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture
NATURE Sarah Little is a professor of landscape architecture at the OU Gibbs College of Architecture, and a registered landscape architect in North Carolina. For 10 years she worked as a landscape designer in the design/build field creating high-end residential landscapes in the Charlotte metro area. As a registered landscape architect, she worked for 4 years designing children’s play environments and park master plans involving issues of environmental justice and community participation. In transitioning from practice to academia, Sarah obtained a PhD in Design from North Carolina State University. Her teaching style encourages students to utilize reflective and critical thinking by emphasizing the role of design in creating an experience. Her research broadly focuses on understanding the influence of the design of the physical environment on human development. Her current research projects involve linking human attachment with place attachment, understanding the link between natural environments and autonomy, and developing observation scales for behavior mapping.
Playgrounds can be a way to bring nature into the daily lives of our children. Having nature in our lives brings health benefits. It decreases morbidity and mortality, boosts immunity and cognitive function, speeds recovery from surgery, ameliorates obesity, and it’s a protective factor against mental health challenges.
THE PLAYGROUND DESIGN SPECTRUM: • • •
Traditional playground: Play on manufactured play equipment, NO nature. Hybrid playground: Play on manufactured play equipment AND with natural elements. Nature Playground: Play with exclusive natural elements, NO manufactured play equipment.
2 BIGGEST BARRIERS TO NATURE PLAY Risk and liability: It’s important to make a distinction between risk and hazard. Hazard is inherently dangerous. Risks are defined by challenge – a good challenge that’s just beyond a child’s current ability level. Managing risk is a healthy childhood development experience; meanwhile playgrounds have been designed to a point where all risk has been removed, and that’s detrimental to healthy child development. Liability determined through litigation. Try to conform to the standards that apply to manufactured play equipment, for instance, the Consumer Product
