Planning and Play

Creating Greener Environments

Abstract

If children are to develop into environmentally aware adults, capable of safe-guarding our fragile ecosystem, they need to experience the environment as an integral part of their lives in their formative years. Children learn through play, thus it is essential that natural environments form a significant component of their play experience. Current planning orthodoxy, when addressing children's play needs, focuses on the provision of designated formal play-areas. This article argues that there is an urgent need for planners and other land-use managers to rethink this approach, and to recognize the critical importance of the informal and natural environment in children's play. The final section offers some suggestions on how children's environmental needs can be addressed in land-use planning and open-space policy development.