Small Playground Space? No Problem
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| Peaceful Playgrounds Designs |
One of the regular questions we receive is : I only have a small amount of blacktop can I put in Peaceful Playgrounds?
We emphasize that the smaller the play space you have the more important it is to develop the space so that children have a variety of game options.
I designed a playground in San Francisco, CA a few years back. The school district brought me in to assist them with the playground design because they were losing 1/2 the playground space to teacher housing. It seems parents were upset and felt that children needed more space not less. Before the redesign, the school had about 10 game choices for the students. After the redesign they had almost 20 game courts in half the amount of space. While I don't recommend limiting or cutting play space I did understand the school's dilemma.
Another example of adding more playground markings to the playground is shown in this picture from Monroe Elementary School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The PTA wanted to increase the recess game choices and did a great job of utilizing a small space. Plus there is an added bonus of a colorful and inviting playground appearance.
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