Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010
Children’s playgrounds are commonly understood as the obvious place for children to play: safe, natural and out of the way. But these expectations hide a convoluted and overlooked history of children’s place in public space – one shaped by implicit social, political and environmental values, and by...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of London Press
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/93000 |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1869517714975883264 |
|---|---|
| author | Winder, Jon |
| author_browse | Winder, Jon |
| author_facet | Winder, Jon |
| author_sort | Winder, Jon |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Children’s playgrounds are commonly understood as the obvious place for children to play: safe, natural and out of the way. But these expectations hide a convoluted and overlooked history of children’s place in public space – one shaped by implicit social, political and environmental values, and by government intervention in spaces and lives across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This book is the first empirically grounded historical account of the modern playground, drawing on the archival materials of social reformers, park superintendents, equipment manufacturers and architects in Britain and beyond to chart the playground’s journey from marginal obscurity to popular ubiquity. In exploring the evolution of play space design, the book shows that the ideal playground has long represented a space where changing conceptions of nature, health, childhood, commerce and technology have all been played out. It covers the development of garden gymnasiums in the 1890s, the influence of Charles Wicksteed, increasing standardisation in the interwar period, the impact of progressive education, pioneering female designers and the adventure playground movement in the twentieth century, and more recent challenges to the playground’s status as a site of health, nature and safety. Designed for Play is an original and accessible contribution to modern British history, urban and environmental history, and histories and geographies of childhood. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-143597 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | University of London Press |
| publisherStr | University of London Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1435972024-12-10T04:58:48Z Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 Winder, Jon playground history childhood social geography urban planning space design education thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RG Geography::RGC Human geography::RGCS Social geography Children’s playgrounds are commonly understood as the obvious place for children to play: safe, natural and out of the way. But these expectations hide a convoluted and overlooked history of children’s place in public space – one shaped by implicit social, political and environmental values, and by government intervention in spaces and lives across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This book is the first empirically grounded historical account of the modern playground, drawing on the archival materials of social reformers, park superintendents, equipment manufacturers and architects in Britain and beyond to chart the playground’s journey from marginal obscurity to popular ubiquity. In exploring the evolution of play space design, the book shows that the ideal playground has long represented a space where changing conceptions of nature, health, childhood, commerce and technology have all been played out. It covers the development of garden gymnasiums in the 1890s, the influence of Charles Wicksteed, increasing standardisation in the interwar period, the impact of progressive education, pioneering female designers and the adventure playground movement in the twentieth century, and more recent challenges to the playground’s status as a site of health, nature and safety. Designed for Play is an original and accessible contribution to modern British history, urban and environmental history, and histories and geographies of childhood. 2024-09-06T04:04:14Z 2024-09-06T04:04:14Z 2024-09-05T11:35:01Z 2024 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/93000 9781914477485 9781914477492 9781914477515 9781914477683 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/143597 eng New Historical Perspectives open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/93000/1/9781914477508.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/93000/1/9781914477508.pdf University of London Press 10.14296/mgyc2910 10.14296/mgyc2910 3fae60e1-9f6a-42ab-a7ee-73df8c57b4f2 9781914477485 9781914477492 9781914477515 9781914477683 297 London open access |
| spellingShingle | playground history childhood social geography urban planning space design education thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RG Geography::RGC Human geography::RGCS Social geography Winder, Jon Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 |
| title | Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 |
| title_full | Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 |
| title_fullStr | Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 |
| title_short | Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 |
| title_sort | designed for play children s playgrounds and the politics of urban space 1840 2010 |
| topic | playground history childhood social geography urban planning space design education thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RG Geography::RGC Human geography::RGCS Social geography |
| topic_facet | playground history childhood social geography urban planning space design education thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RG Geography::RGC Human geography::RGCS Social geography |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/93000 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT winderjon designedforplaychildrensplaygroundsandthepoliticsofurbanspace18402010 |