Monday, September 13, 2010

Rebecca Mead on Playgrounds

This website's focus thus far has been on reviews of actual playgrounds, and not so much playground theory.  I think that someone will have a pretty good idea pretty quickly of what makes a good playground, at least in part.  (For example, shade.  Benches.  Funky stuff.)

If you're enmeshed in the world of playground design, you certainly were aware of Rebecca Mead's article in the New Yorker a couple months ago.  She spent a lot of time talking about the recently-opened Imagination Playground at Burling Slip in South Street Seaport in New York City.  The basic conceit of Imagination Playground is not fixed equipment but rather movable pieces -- to me they sound like foam blocks on steroids.  She also spends a lot of time talking about how kids use playgrounds in ways their designers never intended.

If you're not enmeshed in the world of playground design and aren't a New Yorker subscriber, it's not so interesting that I'd recommend that you track down the article (though it's certainly a pleasant read).  In lieu of reading the article, I'd recommend listening to the podcast of maybe 15 minutes or so, which you can do so here.

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