Children’s Playgrounds: There’s More to Them Than Meets the Eye

Plastic structures, rubber matting, safety standards—the modern child’s play space.

While children have always played, playgrounds only emerged as an urban institution in the early 1900s. Over the past century, the evolution of these structures has reflected key perspectives about human nature and society. What do playgrounds tell us about our values and interests? What are the implications for children’s health and development?

This panel will discuss Canadian playground policies, current research at UBC that challenges these policies, and an alternate model—Adventure Playgrounds in the UK.

Where do you play?

Rebecca Gibbons is a Master in Public Health student. She was a part of a research team that looked at the relationship between risky outdoor play and health. Last year, she was a “bubble-wrapped” child for Halloween and enjoyed doing log rolls on the dance floor.

Amalie Lambert is a M.Arch student at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at UBC. She has worked in the management and design of playgrounds, and occasionally falls off her bicycle.