Play and the built environment
Playing out then…
Adults born in the 1970s, 1960s and earlier tell stories of playing out with glee. Eyes light up as they speak about ‘dumping school bags and not coming home until the street lights came on’, ‘jumping on a circular bus route for 10p – getting off at all the stops with playgrounds and not getting home until 9pm’. Memories of playing in nature, taking risks, cycling for miles – and the list goes on and on.
Playing out now…
In contrast, research in Leeds (Play Sufficiency; Child Friendly Leeds 12 wishes) has demonstrated that modern day children are not playing in their local neighbourhoods in the same way as they did in recent decades. Dr William Bird’s much cited image mapping roaming distance through the generations of one family in Sheffield provides a stark representation of just how significantly children’s right to roam has reduced.
But perhaps this is just the natural evolution of childhood? Has ‘playing out’ just had its times?
Is it time to embrace the new normal? Perhaps not…
We shouldn’t accept a decrease in play…
Data across England now demonstrates an unprecedented rise in mental health problems for children and young people.
Almost one in five (18%) children aged 7-17 now has a probable mental disorder, a 50% increase from 2017.
The number of open referrals to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services is the highest on record with 496,897 referred to services in November 2023, an increase from 493,434 in October 2023.
Rates of self-harm remain high for young people, with almost a quarter (24%) of 17-year-olds self-harming each year. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people in the UK.
(Feb 2024)
Nationally, Childhood obesity figures rocket, communities retreat as they report spaces feeling unsafe, educational settings struggle with children’s ‘readiness’ for school – all in a country still reeling from the impact of a global pandemic.
Play is fundamental to children’s (and everyone’s) well-being and development. Play matters. Human beings are born hard-wired to play: it is how we learn about the complex world around us and is how we form connections between where we live and the people that surround us. Play is how we learn, it’s how we manage our mood and emotions, it’s how we develop physical skills and understand (and stretch) our limits. Through play we take risks and challenge ourselves. It is crucial to who we are and who we will become – right from the day we are born and throughout adulthood. Above all, play is pleasure – it is at the centre of what makes life fun and what brings us happiness.
Children in Leeds told us:
Designing neighbourhoods that encourage play…
The way we design our neighbourhoods – our streets, green spaces, houses – is key to supporting children’s right to play.
Things could be better:
‘While children are rarely the focus of planners, they arguably suffer the most from poor planning – particularly those in low-income contexts. The environmental threats children face include traffic danger, air and noise pollution, and poor mental and physical health.
Urban Playground (by Tim Gill)
Very little is expected from house builders. Children are never more than a ‘tick box’ and developers only need to provide a small, fenced-in play area (at most). Very convenient. Those who want to do more are hit by challenges. It’s not an exaggeration to say we are encouraged to think more about bins and cars than about children.
Jonny Anstead, Founding Director of TOWN
This is where the ‘Levelling Up’ inquiry comes into it…
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee launched an inquiry (Nov 2023) looking at how better planning and building and urban design in England could enhance the health and well-being of children and young people.
Over 100 organisations and individuals (including a joint submission from Child Friendly Leeds and Strategic Planning, Policy and Plans) submitted written evidence to the inquiry, collectively making the case that more needs to be done to consider and meet children’s needs in the planning process and in government policy.
Playing Out are one of the organisations that have lobbied for this inquiry to take place, arguing that children’s health and wellbeing is at crisis point in the UK, especially due to poverty and inequality. They have been present at each of the three panels to the inquiry and you can read more about the sessions here.
What are Leeds doing about all of this?…
Leeds is the first Local Authority in England to implement a full ‘Play Sufficiency Assessment’, which assesses the built environment in terms of play. Play Sufficiency is about securing sufficient opportunities for children’s play, which involves cultivating the time, space and attitudes needed for children’s play to flourish in our city.
We want children and young people to have opportunities to play in their homes, on their doorsteps, in their streets and community places and in adult institutions.
Children will play wherever and whenever they can, however, their ability to do so is dependent on other variables. A Play Sufficiency approach helps us understand how to create favourable conditions which invite play in a variety of spaces that are important to children and young people, beyond traditional playgrounds. This is not simply around play equipment, but is about considering how any space could be used for play. The Play Sufficiency research gathers information from over 50 hours spent listening to over 700 children about their experiences of play.
The key to the Play Sufficiency approach is everyone playing their part. Play Sufficiency is about everyone – whether your work directly or indirectly affects children’s opportunities to play – making decisions and taking actions through the lens of the child. It sounds simple, but when action is taken by all decision-makers across the city then it can be a truly powerful thing. Play is everyone’s business.
Why does it matter? Why is it so important now?…
Play memories – powerful and unifying – are dying out. Many adults who are parenting now did not experience the same freedom to play out that their parents did. We are in danger of forgetting how important play is – and how much we need to protect it.
The inquiry represents a golden opportunity to create real policy change to prioritise children’s safety, health and wellbeing in the planning system and across government departments – with real impact on children’s lives.
