Shackell et al., Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play spaces, Chapters 1& 2

Chapter one starts out asking "What is play?" and "Why is play important?". Play comes in many different forms and differs from child-to-child depending on their own interest and abilities and location and time. There have been fifteen different types of play already identified. While most people consider play to be "active and boisterous", play can be "quiet and contemplative", too.

Play is an important part of a child's physical, social, and cognitive development; it encourages children to explore, take risks, and make their own choices. This is seen especially in outdoor play, where they can freely play, being able to move as they please. Good public spaces for children often benefit, not only the children, but the rest of the society as a whole. These spaces also give parents a place to meet and get help and support for the issues they may be facing with their children. Today's children have fewer opportunities for outdoor play. Seventy-one percent of adults said that they played outside as children compared to twenty-one percent of children today. Childhood and adolescent depression has also been on the increase during this period.

There are many policies in place for children's right to play. In the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and in the UK five outcomes for all children's services defined Every Child Matters: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being.

---

Chapter two gets more specific on the principles for designing successful play spaces.

Because of the number of increasing factors that limit where children and young people have access to, it is even more important now to have play spaces outdoors and where a large number of activities and environments are provided.

Successful play spaces offer movement and physical activity, stimulate the five senses, are good places for social interactions, allow for children to manipulate natural and fabricated materials, and offer children challenges.

The golden rule when creating inspiring places for play is "A successful play space is a place in its own right, specially designed for it's location, in such a way as to provide as much play value as possible. There are ten underlying principles to this design-led approach. These ten principles depend on all those involved in order to create a space children will want to occupy.

1. Imagine a play space designed to enhance its setting
2. Imagine a play space in the best possible place
3. Imagine a play space close to nature
4. Imagine a play space where children can play in different ways
5. Imagine a play space where disabled and non-disabled children play together
6. Imagine a play space loved by the community
7. Imagine a play space where children of all ages play together
8. Imagine a play space where children can stretch and challenge themselves in everyway
9. Imagine a play space maintained for play value and environmental sustainability
10. Imagine a play space that evolves as children grow.