Design trends for children's playgrounds in The urban environment. Case study: Bistrita Town, Romania

Abstract

This work presents the latest trends in the design and arrangement of children's playgrounds in rapidly growing urban areas The author analyses the potential capacity of playgrounds to enhance children’s physical and mental development, encourage the capacity for playgrounds to improve children’s physical and psychological growth and encourage intensive learning about the world from the experience of playing. The paper contains examples of using non-standard components and innovative structures, and materials in playgrounds in Romania. The analysis considers the need to apply state-of-the-art technologies, and a creative approach balanced with compliance with safety rules and construction standards to build playgrounds which would be interesting and attractive for kids and useful for their all-around development. The example of Bistrița compares the design for historic districts of the city and its peripheral districts and mentions specific requirements for designing playgrounds outlined in the corresponding codes and regulations. This paper also describes the cooperation framework between project customers, designers, and neighbourhood residents (end users of playgrounds), as in the case of Bistrița. Another task is to analyse the accessibility of a playground for people with disabilities' mobility. It explores the process of selecting suitable sites, the process of communicating with the target audience (residents), and the typical challenges to be addressed by planners.  The research period is from July 2023 to March 2024.