Landscape interventions: new directions for the design of childrenʹs outdoor play environments

The child care playground is a landmark site where landscape architects can contribute their skills in a broad and meaningful way. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) states that over 5 million children under the age of five are in out-of-home care settings in the United States. The playground at the child care center has become the surrogate backyard known to a previous generation. Unfortunately, the outdoor environment of these centers typically consists of isolated pieces of equipment in a mono-culture of grass. This ‘place-lessʹ equipment-based approach to designing play grounds does not speak to the qualities of being outdoors. Additionally, the equipment primarily addresses the physical development of the child. Childrenʹs social, emotional, and cognitive development must also be considered. Design processes that explore ways to support other types of development and include the unique aspects of the outdoors are greatly needed to produce quality environments for children. This paper describes a research project conducted in the outdoor play yards at the Child Development Laboratory, Iowa State University. The research hypothesizes that the installation of natural material and other landscape elements into the existing yards will offer additional types of child development (i.e., social, emotional, cognitive). This research involved a ‘landscape-basedʹ approach to design. Data collection included video documentation and anecdotal field notes of the children (ranging from 2–6 years old) playing in the yards. Qualitative analysis of these data revealed that the installation of plant material and other landscape elements did provide for additional realms of development that where not provided in the existing yards.