Howard L. White

Function-Safety-Beauty on Playgrounds By Howard L. White

It is essential to build extra-heavy playground equipment in order to provide safety from abuse and misuse which is a sick part of our society called vandalism. Also, such heavy-duty construction insures long life and low maintenance which is an increasing consideration with maintenance labor costs soaring beyond normal Park and Recreation budgets.

There is a new renaissance in playgrounds which is good and bad. It is good to see planners, architects, and professional recreation consultants using imagination and creative approaches to playground equipment lay-outs and to see that landscaping and beautification is being added to play areas. No longer is playground equipment being stuck around helter-skelter on any flat surface, rather true planning with attention to walks, drinking fountains, and functional uses of equipment shows in the lay-outs of many areas. This means blending of playground equipment into natural landscaped tree, mound, and shrubbery areas. Also, such planning is taking away the sterile appearance of stark play areas. Game Time has incorporated safety, function, pleasing lines, rustic equipment, and interesting colors to aid planners and architects.

The bad part of this renaissance is that adult minds are planning quite elaborate playgrounds with interesting appearance and forms and using specially designed apparatus that is pleasing to the adult and artistic sense but, the children ignore and do not use it.

Apparatus alone is not enough. The child and his basic play urges must be considered in order to have a fun-filled playground. It is necessary to consider the needs for climbing, swinging, throwing, sliding, running, jumping, and balancing and then, to select equipment and allow areas that provide for such functions according to age level, amount of child traffic, and degree of supervision that is provided. Game Time provides from four to twenty different varieties of the same functional item so that a wide selection is available to meet the play requirements of a particular area.

Professional Park and Recreation Directors, Architects, Manufacturers, University Research, Environmentalists, and Planners all are struggling to give children the best possible place to play. The more feedback that playground equipment manufacturers can receive from the various groups involved, the better chance of fun for the children that need and use playgrounds.

Howard L. White formerly taught Rec. Adm. at New York Univ. and served for three years as Exec. Sect. for the American Association of Park Executives, now heads his own park equipment business.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 11 January/February, 1973