playgrounds
What You Should Know About Playgrounds and COVID-19
Note: Post updated July 6, 2020 As the nation begins to reopen, parents are understandably concerned about the risks to their children of contracting COVID-19 in parks and playgrounds. It’s a reasonable fear. We know that the coronavirus spreads when people cough, sneeze or just talk. Does this mean children…
Zorlu Center in Istanbul,Turkey: A Case Study
This week we feature a guest blog from the Dutch design firm Carve, a case study in which the authors describe the design of a challenging, architecturally stunning playground developed in Istanbul, Turkey in collaboration with London-based WATG landscape architects. We’re enamored with the two stacked cubic towers—gorgeous structures that…
Giving Thanks To Our Nation’s Best Parks and Recreation Departments
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the people and places that bring meaning to our lives. At Goric, we’d like to recognize the holiday by expressing our appreciation for the work of five city park departments, which have excelled in making their park systems accessible places for recreation, quiet…
Because It Is There: Six Trends in Playground Climbing Structures
In a 1923 interview with a New York Times reporter, Himalayan mountain climber George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest. His famous response, “because it is there,” may seem irreverent on its face, but beneath the deadpan lies a deeper truth. The desire to reach the top…
How Indoor Play Areas are Helping to Bring American Malls Back to Life
To trace the origins of the iconic American shopping mall, one must travel all the way back to the mid-twentieth century. It was in 1956 that Southdale, the first enclosed shopping space in the United States, opened outside of Minneapolis. Over the next fifty years, roughly 1,500 similar structures were…
Play to Learn, The Importance of Recess in Education
As Children Return to School, A Reminder that Daily Play Makes a Measurable Difference Since the early days of one-room school houses, recess has been an important part of education. In those early times, there was often an informal period of play before and after school, in addition to…
Hula, Twist, and Charleston: Thinking in Motion with “Dancing” Play Elements
Play is an essential learning tool for children. It enhances the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. Being curious, I’ve taken a look into what play really is and why it is so important for human beings. The 2009 task force report from the Cambridge, MA Healthy Parks and Playgrounds…
Beach Series (part 3): To Cell Phone or Not to Cell Phone?
To take the phone or to not take the phone, that is the question. As I write that sentence, I think that this question is not a question at all to many. It is a clear “of course!” or “of course not!” I took my phone for an “in case…
