Children’s Perspectives on Public Playgrounds in Two Swedish Communities

Abstract

This paper describes children’s perspectives on local public playgrounds and discusses the effect of the surrounding landscape on playground use by comparing two Swedish communities: one in the forest and one on open, arable land. The researcher interviewed 141 children aged 6-11 from the two communities. They appreciated playgrounds for being fun and for offering many activities, but also described them as problematic, inadequate, or boring. The children often mentioned social dimensions of playground play, and viewed playgrounds as insufficient as the only places for children’s outdoor play. In the forest community, the children appreciated having forested areas close to playgrounds. Access to natural places for play seemed to make playground design less important and less problematic for children.