Why I Build Custom Playgrounds

Building custom playgrounds is a lonely task that only a few people throughout the US choose to specialize in. Perhaps we are all looking for some greater glory when we somehow get "discovered", but meanwhile it is a constant task of going against a popular flow of conformity that chooses profits over practical solutions.

I try my best to bring the best of outdoor play into a comprehensive plan that attempts to provide children a wider experience by giving them the opportunity to discover the world on their own terms. Increasingly, children are not able to have this freedom because their daily lives are a rush of calculated events based on the schedule of parents. How often are children allowed the time or access to discover their own neighborhood? Communities are no longer places of exchange but rather a place to sleep.

I often get calls from well meaning people who want to build backyard playgrounds which further isolates a child from the greatest element of play - having a friend. In a preschool environment, friendships are not built within the structured time of the classroom but instead they are best developed outside. Unfortunately, this "free" time is limited to one hour at most preschools and narrows to nearly nothing later on as they are bombarded with instruction to achieve higher test scores (contrary to what most child development experts support!).

Over ten years ago I left my ambitions to improve children's lives through the dissemination of information to a more direct approach. I realized that a statistic comparing the state of children from one community or country to another can influence change - but only if there are people available to make those changes. As an artist, I also shared an interest in the physicality of experience and change. I soon found myself inspecting playgrounds throughout NYC which provided me access to a whole array of neighborhoods and the common spaces that made them thrive. Following my first wife to Hawaii, I soon found myself building commercial, playground structures for a newly formed company called Pacific Recreation.

Eight years ago there were very few playground structures that were not either dilapidated or poorly designed (entrapments galore and no surfacing). Instead of using funds to improve the outdoor play spaces in a resourceful manner, the City and State opted to dot our schools and public parks with the same cookie, cutter structure. I was enthusiastic at first with my job as the leader of a crew of playground builders, but increasingly I became dismayed at the short sited approach which left very little to offer kids except the means to possibly "burn energy". I also realized that the structures we were erecting were not designed to last more than 10 years.

Most of our new playground structures in Hawaii were built on the premise of safety. It was believed that children were now safer and law suits were avoided because industry standards for playground safety were followed. Even on a national scale there is no evidence that the glut of manufactured products kids now play on has had any effect on the number or severity of accidents nor has there been a serious study to find out. I have performed some research in this area only to discover that the touted figure of 200,000 injuries yearly as reported by CPSC 14 years ago has some serious problems in the manner in which data was collected and computated. These same figures were used in the bible for playground safety which was widely supported by the growing playground industry.

Offered to us in the Handbook for Playground Safety (CPSC 1997) owners of playground equipment that did not strictly follow these guidelines were increasingly liable for accidents. Down came the prized playgrounds that people grew up with for the past thirty years ago which brought character to their neighborhood to be replaced by a prescribed and dumbed-down version of a playground. Regardless of following playground safety standards, lawsuits are still being filed but hardly ever brought to court since it is less costly to settle instead of going through the expense of hiring lawyers.

Having witnessed the foolishness that exemplifies playgrounds and the companies involved in selling them, I was interested in developing an alternative. Observing that there basically is no entry for creative design in our Hawaii public parks and school yards I turned to where play was at its prime in the youngest children who are not yet deterred by rules and regs. As I began working at preschools to create these types of environments, I also developed more of an understanding of how children are being contained within very confined borders - borders that do not allow children to fully explore themselves or their environment. I also was concerned that in putting together a plan, I might override their needs or interests as an adult who is many years removed from childhood.

The first playground I opened at First United Methodist Church was a great relief to me because I saw a very different pattern in their play. No longer were they occupied by the same activities, but they had more play outlets that they immediately began to explore. The trike path was not simply a round concrete sidewalk but was full of texture, had obstacles, a bridge and a tunnel. They don't seem to grow tired of it. I was relieved that I created something that they wanted and even more relieved when they could make the space work on their own without a whole lot of staff interaction/interference.

Opening a playground recently at Central Union playground was much the same. I did, however, hear the teaching staff with great reservation as to the safety of the playground as they collected in a small group out of reach of the children. While staff should not be too intrusive, they do need to be identified as the leaders of the playground. I told one staff person who was speaking of her reservations (eight months after the process of creating the space) that risk is a factor in play and it was part of her responsibility to identify where risk was too high and where it was acceptable (acceptable that there can be injury but on a minor level). Her response was that the parents would find it unacceptable that there was any risk what so ever. I suppose these would also be the parents who I see hovering over their children's every move at a public playground until the child is totally unprepared to take any risk. We learn often times by mistakes and what it means, for example, to trip over a root from a tree. Does that mean we remove the root? We should remove the root only if children are repeatedly getting injured and it is in such a spot that children just don't seem to be able to avoid it. Otherwise the occasional trip is a manageable risk that children can learn to avoid in the future. Besides, if we remove the root, the tree that it feeds may not provide the shade that protects children from the sun and keeps the area cool. Children adapt to a space and thoughtless intervention can create more problems - Hawaii State inspectors do this all of the time.

So playgrounds have a lot of aspects to them that people often do not acknowledge. It is to all of our benefit to look at playgrounds more comprehensively than just observing issues of safety which, to my way of thinking, is a bit convoluted to begin with. I suppose the complexity of these issues keeps me interested regardless of sunburns and back pain.

The Demise of the Modern Playground

The platform system that you see in most Hawaii public playgrounds was originally designed by Jay Beckwith, a pioneer playground designer in the 1970’s. His efforts eventually became the products now sold through every playground manufacturer who basically copycatted one another and were largely responsible for the issuance of design guidelines and standards by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). These guidelines created the legal backbone for potential lawsuits in the case of an injury on a playground that does not comply. The fear of lawsuits has outweighed the interest in creating play opportunities for children to the extent that most municipalities are afraid to obfuscate from what is prescribed by the manufacturers. Today there are nearly forty manufacturers in the US and Canada creating “safe” playgrounds while the level of hospitalized injuries has not changed. Even Mr. Beckwith now laments that the “cookie cutter” playground has severely limited play opportunities for children to the point that it creates more problems than it solves.

Why Our Playgrounds are Boring to Today's Wired Child

Paper by Jay Beckwith at the Minnesota Recreation and Parks Association
63rd Annual Conference – 11/5/00

Historical BackgroundSince the early 70’s I have been designing unique play equipment options
for kids. First doing custom built structures and then in ’76 creating School
Yard BigToys. In 1980 I designed the first modular post and clamp play
system, PlayBoosters, for Mexico Forge. When Landscape Structures bought
that company I recreated the concept for Iron Mountain Forge, now Little
Tikes, as KidBuilders. This was followed by the development of the 10 Plus
concept for Kompan.
I have been sometimes been called the father of the modern playground. In
fact there where many others, such as Richard Dattner, Paul Friedburg, and
Steve King who also were also influential in the early development of
architectural alternatives to the then dominant form of play equipment,
swings, slides and climbers made from pipe. I mention this history because it
is important to remember that in those years, creating playgrounds was an
exciting and creative pursuit. There were lots of wonderful options for
designers then that have subsequently disappeared from the market.
I created post and deck system to fulfill a specific design requirement …
play equipment for elementary schools. The concept of attaching play events
to linked platforms was intended to take advantage of the characteristic style
of play for 1st through 3rd graders; games of chase and tag. A large complex
play structure perfectly matches the physical and developmental needs from
7 to 11 in a high-density setting.
In those days we talked a lot about "play environments." These were
envisioned as diverse spaces with all manner of play opportunities. We did
not intend that post and deck play structures become the total play space,
which is now sadly the rule.
Even if our vision of thirty years ago had been fully realized it would not be
right for today’s children. Kids now are fundamentally and profoundly
different than children of even a decade ago. If we are to invest in the
creation of recreation spaces that are relevant now and have a chance of
some utility into the future we must better understand what today’s kids
need and why our own childhood prevents us from seeing those needs
clearly.
How the Past Prevents Seeing Today’s Needs Clearly
As a "grown up" you have a point of view that effectively puts on blinders
that prevents you from fully understanding the present needs of kids. You
need only look at the friction between your City Council and the kids
demanding a BMX track to see that there is a lack of understanding and
shared values.
When we grew up one belonged, more or less to one of four groups: Jocks,
Preppies, Nerds and Geeks. What is interesting is that membership in one of
these cliques was determined largely by ones selection of leisure activities.
Obviously the more you were into football or basketball the more you
became a jock. Tennis or golf, and to a lesser extent baseball and track were
the leisure pursuits for those bound to become the "suits" of the next
generation.
The nerds shunned physical activity and focused on science and technology
often to exclusion of a social life. Of course the nerds have had the last
laugh, growing up to be the Bill Gates of our world and coming out the real
winners.
The geeks just hung out. They were non-conformists and sought lifestyle
alternatives. They became the beach bums and hippies. A popular leisure
activity for this group was surfing which was soon transmogrified into
skateboarding. If there was no beach around, these kinds often got involved
with backpacking, which evolved into rock climbing.
Now, of course, these characterizations are gross over simplifications. But it
is useful to remember that adults today bring some of this history with them
and it colors how they see today’s kids and thus how they make choices in
the creation and support of leisure activities.
Let’s look, for example, at how these attitudes color our feelings about
skateboarding. While recently skateboarding has come into the mainstream
it is not very long ago that most adults perceived skateboarders as losers and
malcontents and their activities were seen as vandalism. If you were a Jock
or a Preppie you hated Geeks … and still do. So if you are now a grown up
jock or preppie who has become a Parks and Rec Commissioner you will
bring along a bias that makes it impossible for you to see the development of
a skatepark as a good thing. If you do allow one to be built, you will be
certain to vote for a location that is as far way from the mainstream of
community life as possible.
Support for rock climbing as a leisure activity in recreation programming
suffers not only from some of this historical bias but also of the nature of the
sport itself. The geeks who went off into the woods for recreation were by
nature loners. Unlike, skateboarders who are "in your face", climbers
disappear. Not only do they vanish but they also won’t tell you where they
go or what they do. Like fisherman protecting a special "hole" a climber
won’t reveal the best climbing venues. Park and recreation professionals can
and have ignored them as part of their constituency for decades. Its is only
when they brought their pursuit indoors so they could practice in the winter
did we take note of them.
Both climbing and skateboarding have gain popularity, due mainly to
exposure in the X-Games. It is amazing how often riders and climbers are
shown in advertisements when the product wants to associate with what is
"now" and "hot." For decades proposals for skating and climbing facilities
where ignored or declined because these were thought to be fad pursuits. No
one can think these are fads now. We must stop thinking of these as kids
hung up on a temporary fad and see them for what they are, legitimate
athletes engaged in very interesting and demanding sports.
The high end of these sports will be "extreme" and are more appropriately
done in the controlled conditions of indoor facilities. The beginner and
intermediate players need free access to facilities in which to practice and
develop their skills. Park departments have traditionally provided the
support system that feeds the higher levels of sports.
Do you think this kid plays on swings and slides?
The Wired Child
Consider this, today’s ten year old has never known a time without a
personal computer, the Internet or 150 TV channels. Heck, they’ve never
even seen a black and white TV or computer screen. They’ve always lived in
prosperity and without war. And most importantly for those concerned with
recreation, every playground they have ever played on has had essentially
the same play structure.
They’ve rooted for Tony Hawks while he struggled to be the first to land a
"900", two and a half rotations in the air above a half-pipe. When he landed
it at the X-Games it was for their generation the equivalent of the first steps
on the moon. They know Tony as a world-class athlete, father of two, and
the star of the video games ProSkater I and II. Which, by the way have
grossed more sales than all but the very top Hollywood blockbusters.
The Twentieth Century for these kids is just one block of time. For a
Halloween costume they might choose a flapper’s dress, poodle skirt or tiedye
shirt and bell-bottoms, and consider any of the choices simply "retro."
Today’s kids grow up faster and stay young longer. The play structures that
used to attract kids in the 70’s from five to preteens are now used only a
little by the 8 year olds. A 10 year-old plays there only when there is no
other option.
For adults the "Information Age" is still largely external. We think of it
mainly as computers. These kids swim in a sea of information like dolphins
in a warm ocean. And because of this immersion their very cognitive
processes are fundamentally different. The root cause of the "crisis" in
education today is that you might as well have donkeys trying to teach
chimpanzees for all that teachers and kids share in their perception of the
world.
In trying to understand what this change means, what kids will respond to
and respect. I’ve spent a lot of time among the kids and with the literature in
this field. From my studies I’ve developed eleven basic rules. These have
really helped me better see the world through their eyes. They have also
illuminated my design practice. I use them every day to make choices about
what to build so that I am sure the kids will like what I make.

The following terms and concepts are all language used with computers and
the Information Age. It is important to understand that their application is
not limited to computers. These ideas have become part and parcel of the
reality construct of today’s kids.
1. Layered - think about the hidden levels in the game called Doom.
2. Linked - one thing leads to another, the Net/web.
3. Non-linear - envision the child exploring information on the web like
a dog on the beach, not in a straight line but as interest dictates.
4. Configurable – Being able to change the color of your cell phone is
not just cool, it is the signal that mass production can, with the addition of
information systems, also be personal.
5. Virtual - I am "me" except when I’m on-line, then I’m "Doctor Play".
6. Interactive - when physical constraints and consequences disappear
in the virtual world I experience unlimited behaviors and come to expect a
very high level of responsiveness from my environment.
7. Recordable - The sense of time begins to change when I can record
the weekend football game for later replay, or record my actions and then
return to an earlier point in the process and take a different direction.
8. Embedded – Intelligence leaves the computer and enters the
environment. Consider the "information" packed into the McDonald’s Logo.
9. Real-time - waiting will increasing become obsolete. Entertainment
increasing becomes live (sports) or interactive (movies with various
endings). As kids increasingly live virtual lives they will consequentially
also seek more "real time" direct experiences.
10. Operating Systems – information is controlled by various operating
systems, the control of which brings power and status.
11. High tech, high touch - when I am in my virtual self I am out of
body. When I am in the physical world I am intensely aware of my senses.
This explains the seeming dichotomy of heavy computer use on one hand
and the popularity of extreme sports on the other.
Are You Still Building Yesterday’s Parks?
While Baseball and Basketball are still popular, the real growth in leisure
pursuits has been in what are loosely called "alternative" sports,
rollerblading, skateboarding, kayaking, snowboarding, BMX, and climbing.
The pattern of family leisure time has changed as well. The neighborhood
park has been largely abandoned in favor of the large "destination" park that
has facilities for fitness activities like biking and well as something different
and unique on the playground.
Everyday I see plans for playground renovations come across my desk that
have formula that consists of a ball field; a basketball court and the same old
play structure. It breaks my heart to see good money being spent on facilities
that are already outdated and irrelevant to the needs of most families and
will be underutilized.
Yes, there is a sudden resurgence in interes skateparks. But again, these are
generally just copies of concepts that are 20 years old, bowls or street
courses. I have yet to see anywhere a park development that truly embodies
the needs of today.
I am not suggesting that ball fields and play structures won’t be part of
playgrounds for decades to come. I am proposing that they are not the be all
and end all. Designs that are limited to these features will be less successful
and popular than those those also include well-designed trails and have
BMX options or even ramps and other tricks along the route. Up to date
parks will have skateparks as well but these will tend to be smaller and less
expensive and the events will be changeable so that the activities can be
constantly refreshed. And they will have bouldering walls. These walls will
not be lame plastic add-ons to play structures but valid climbing challenges
that will engage the whole family.
These are exciting times. The way families spend their leisure time is
undergoing a tremendous transformation. I hope you are as excited about
adapting to these new opportunities and the new concepts that your
departments are implementing. I hope the ideas we have shared today will
provide insights that reinforce your efforts.