When Minnesota’s Three Rivers Park District sketched out the plan for updating an aging playground, there was no question it would include a zip line. 600 kids and their parents made that clear when they were asked for suggestions. Describing the old zip line as a “beloved element of the original play area,” the district… Read more »
Arising on the banks of Long Island’s Hempstead Bay, upon what once was an industrial wasteland, is a new neighborhood. Strung along an inlet and linked by a waterfront promenade, the shops, restaurants and play areas of Garvies Point have already become a popular destination for the residents of Glen Cove, NY. And among the… Read more »
50 years ago, a ping pong tournament connected China to the world. Today, the table top tennis game is doing the same for families and neighbors. Social distancing may have put a halt to team sports, but games like ping pong, badminton, corn hole toss and tennis are allowing Americans to connect with others while… Read more »
What You Need to Know Before Building a Rooftop Playground When you imagine a playground you’ll commonly think of an open expanse of freshly cut green grass, shiny new playground equipment, and children laughing. That image, while still promising for individuals in rural areas, isn’t viable for many urban environments. Instead of frolicking in… Read more »
In 1947, when the structuralist architect Aldo van Eyck built his first playground in Amsterdam, Dutch cities were in a state of crisis. The city’s infrastructure lay ravaged by World War II, the birth rate was accelerating, and there was little available housing stock. At the time, most existing playgrounds were privately owned and accessible… Read more »
For many of us, the allure of a waterfront begins in childhood. We remember gazing out at the waves and brightly colored boats, the piers and jetties that stretch into the water. We carry with us a sense of the infinite, made visible in the vast, unfathomable distances of the sea (or, say, the Great… Read more »
As a child on a small farm in southwestern Arkansas, Joe Frost played with his friends in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. He played war and chase, built dams in the stream behind his grade school, and piled on his classmates in a game called “Dog Pile.” He devoured library books, government pamphlets, comics,… Read more »
Eight years ago, on a five-day cycling tour of Berlin, Michelle Mathis stumbled upon her first bonafide adventure playground. What she saw caught her off guard: along several hundred linear feet of boardwalk, children unaccompanied by parents were using hammers, hand saws, and pieces of scrap wood to build forts, some as high as twenty… Read more »
A Place and Space for All Benefits Everyone Many are well aware that intergenerational interactions create enriching experiences for all involved. With the incorporation of design elements that effectively encourage an active involvement from the many adults in a child’s life, a play area’s overall value and ability to promote strong development can be significantly increased. … Read more »
With the 2016 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo still fresh in our minds, it seems fitting to wish farewell to New Orleans with a look at some of its best parks, gardens, and playgrounds. What better judge than the people of New Orleans? In this week’s blog, we scour a compilation of Airbnb host-generated guidebooks,… Read more »
In a culturally rich city that blends French, Creole, African, Irish, and German heritage and lays claim to the best beignets in the country, not to mention some of the best jazz, there will be plenty of opportunity for diversion at this year’s ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo in New Orleans Oct. 21-24. With the… Read more »
Long before the iPad and Pokémon GO, there was sand and water. The two are foundational to the earth and offer near limitless possibilities for young children’s imaginations. During the summer months, I take my two-year-old son to Chicago’s Montrose Beach on the shore of Lake Michigan. After laying out a blanket, I let him dig… Read more »
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