Abstract
The process of urbanisation will result in an increase in population densities and extended land usage. The need to maintain and provide sustainable public open spaces within future and existing urban developments will therefore become more critical.
Presently there are still a large number of undeveloped sites in the older suburbs of Johannesburg bordering on the inner city. These sites are owned and maintained by the City of Johannesburg and provide public open spaces ranging from small pocket ‘parks’ to large destination parks, many of which incorporate some form of playground equipment.
Research was conducted on a sampling of public playgrounds within these ‘park’ settings to establish: space utilisation and layout, the type of play equipment and subsequent play opportunities provided for children, the general condition of the playground equipment in relation to vandalism and maintenance, and other facilities available on the site.
All authors writing on childhood development concur on the benefits of play for healthy development, with specific importance placed on outdoor play. However research has shown that the traditional forms of playground and play equipment design, which prevail in the majority of public parks surveyed for this study, do not adequately meet the developmental needs of children. They are also proving to be unsustainable within this context.
The aim of this study was to establish design strategies for alternative design solutions for public playgrounds and play equipment that holistically meets the developmental needs of children, and which would, in turn contribute towards the sustainability of public open spaces.