Comments on the readings

In the Cosco chapter(9) the author stresses the correlation between inactivity and childhood obesity and how children are benefited by sufficiently challenging environments and interaction with nature. This was also borne out by my site analysis into playground standards and what experts say children need for play: adventure and nature. Also the layout of the play area is most important to the percieved success from the children-user's perspective. Layout also contributes to the potential for exercise and "challenge" which again are considered critical use objectives for play ground design. Finally the author points out how, so far, playground design has fallen short of these goals and since children need to play they are the ones suffering in face of this lack. In the "children's play and vegetation" article the background on Piaget's study into child development stages is also important to designers as we construct play pieces and spaces that address each age group's needs and how to best support their cognitive and physical growth. For example, a child's tendacy to animism where they believe nature is real and alive should be both cautionary and exciting in terms of which plants landscape architects choose within their plans. In another example we must remember when designing for a cross age area that older children interact with textures and approach movement with a more whole physical immersion and therefore spaces should accommodate this. The end result is that again plants and vegetation offer an equally viable designing medium for playground design and can hold their own against engineered play structures or technology.