A staple environment of any childhood, parks are often inadequately equipped for students with physical disabilities. All parks should be accessible to and by all children. No child should have to sit and watch others playing simply because designers didn't think to include access ramps or specially tailored swings for children in wheelchairs. Parks should work to become more friendly for students who have lost their hearing or vision as well. When we agree that all children should be encouraged to play and develop great senses of imagination, what does it mean if we don't make those play spaces accessible to each and every child?
Hi Lindsay!
ReplyDeleteWow, your post was extremely powerful and insightful! Throughout my childhood, I always loved going to parks, playing on the jungle gyms, swinging on the swings, and utilizing all of the different amenities the park had to offer. However, when looking at your photograph and reading your post, I definitely agree with you that most parks are NOT universally designed, especially for those with physical disabilities. I can see in the picture you took, a child in a wheelchair could definitely not use that swing. Really, if there are so many swings made for those without physical disabilities, what’s the harm in creating specially tailored swings for those with physical disabilities, such as those in wheelchairs? Also, it seems like that jungle gym in the background of your picture lacks inclusive access for ALL children, as there seems to be no ramps, or some type of lift, but only bars to climb. When considering these barriers, principle 3 of the seven universal design principles stands out to me, “Simple and Intuitive Use: Use of the design is easy to understand regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.” That jungle gym in the background seems like it would be pretty complicated to navigate through, especially for a child with physical disabilities and I believe goes against guideline 3a. “Eliminate unnecessary complexity.” This principle provides an example that I believe could be applicable to this park and it’s jungle gym: “A moving sidewalk or escalator in a public space.” Maybe having some type of moving escalator or lift connected to the jungle gym could help those with physical disabilities to utilize the jungle gym more easily? I strongly agree with you that NO child should have to sit around and watch other children play just because a park is not designed to fit their needs, and that ALL children should have the opportunity to play with the peers in a park without barriers limiting them.
Lindsay, I like the point you make! I agree that most playgrounds are definitely not designed universally so that all children, regardless of their disability can use them and play on them. This breaks the 1st principle of Universal Design, “Equitable Use” by potentially segregating children with disabilities from children without disabilities. I think it may be challenging to construct a universally designed playground for all children, however, I think it is so important because all children are entitled to play and have fun. Playgrounds are definitely an important part of childhood because they give children a space to play and use their imagination, especially in the city. I agree with what you said and think specially designed swings for children in wheelchairs would be a good partial solution to this challenge. I also like Melissa’s idea for some sort of escalator or movable contraption to move children in wheelchairs around the playground and the jungle gym. I think it would also be nice for more of an increase of jungle-gym equipment that requires hand or arm use (such as an enlarged tick-tac-toe board) so that children in a wheelchair would be able to use this part of a playground just as easily as children who are not in a wheelchair.
ReplyDeleteLindsay, I completely agree with the fact that all playgrounds should be created in a universally designed fashion and accessible to every child. As you have stated, we constantly encourage children to play and foster their sense of imagination, but what do we when this opportunity is not available to all? I also believe that this is especially important for those that live in urban areas, such as New York City, because many families do not have access to backyards or courtyards for children to play outdoors. A child's local playground becomes a staple in their life, so it should not be restricted to certain abilities or disabilities. After reading your post I was interested to see how many of NYC's playgrounds were actually accessible for all children. I came across this website: http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/playgrounds/
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was happy to see that the city, along with the help of some non-profit agencies, is making some progress, there are still so many inaccessible/restricted parks. Unfortunately, I also noticed that there was no mention of parks that were designed for children with hearing and/or visual impairments. With the exponential increase in technology I find it hard to believe that our generation is still lacking in such a crucial area.
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciate that you incorporated a public area that is specifically for children. I whole-heartedly agree with your sentiment that every child should have accessibility to physical outlets, fun, and adventure. Play is such an important element in every child's learning and development, and to deprive them of such, is depriving them of the human experience. I'm wondering if our friend and fellow cohort, Javi, may have some great insight on this. He spent his time between Peace Corps and the Fellows program building accessible public playspaces in low-income areas with a nonprofit called KaBoom.
http://kaboom.org/
Just a thought to use a friend's expertise as an awesome resource!
~ Cristina
Hi Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI think you found a very powerful example of the importance of thinking about universal design. All children enjoy going to and playing at the park, and this photograph made me reflect on all of the flaws in the design of parks. It is really upsetting to think about the large number of children who do not have access to simple things, such as swings. This photograph clearly goes against the first principle of universal design: Equitable Use. Under this principle, all designs must provide the same means of use for all users and it cannot segregate any users. This swing definitely segregates any child with a physical disability from playing on the swing.
As you showed in your after photos, all parks should be equipped with playground equipment that is accessible for all children. This can include specifically designed swings for students with limited mobility. I was also thinking about how to raise public awareness about making parks accessible for all students. This is an issue that needs to be discussed with and encouraged by parents, teachers, and all individuals that are working with children.