A Scientific Evaluation of Universal Design in Playgrounds*
Studying Behavior in Three Comparative Texas Playground Environments
Landscape Architects know full well that public play environments play a key role in encouraging people of all ages and abilities to get outdoors and be active. However, a growing body of evidence affirms that high-quality community parks promote active lifestyles that encourage physical activity in all age groups. Studies show a positive correlation across various socioeconomic conditions between children who have access to and spend time in built outdoor facilities with their levels of physical activity. Though this is established knowledge, there has been a call for more research on specific physical elements of the outdoor environment to guide policy and strengthen design interventions that will get people of all abilities outside and active.
The Goal
This research investigated the possibility that Universal Design in playground environments may positively impact use, done by investigating whether the general public is more attracted to playgrounds designed using Universal Design principles compared to those designed only using the ADA Standards. The team compared differences in observed use at the Case playground designed with Universal Design principles (Coffee Park) and two Comparison playgrounds with comparative play environments designed in terms of Accessible Design (Curtis and Caruth Parks). All three playgrounds were similar in size, amenities, and maintenance in neighborhood parks in the city of University Park, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. Furthermore, all three parks had similar equipment from the same manufacturer placed on poured-in-place rubber surfacing of the same colors. Other comparable elements include the number of play components, neighborhood demographics, and overall surrounding population. The team hypothesized that a play area designed with Universal Design principles would be more popular than one that meets Accessible Design standards. This was evaluated through observing the use of each playground.
Accessible vs. Universal Design
Researchers have argued for the inclusion of people of all abilities in play environments, which was formalized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Physical disabilities in children are the most commonly thought of and accommodated needs; unfortunately, many playground areas are not fully designed to accommodate children with physical or other kinds of disabilities.
The intention behind Universal Design principles is to go beyond the minimum requirements of ADA Standards, also referred to as Accessible Design. While physical access has been both the focus of the ADA Standards and the most recognized minimum standard, equal access to experiences has gained more attention in recent years. Universal Design principles aim to eliminate barriers to social inclusion and interaction and get children together, all within the play space. Its definition has taken many forms since its first conception by architect Ron Mace, but Universal Design has the overall goal of making the built environment as accessible and usable as possible for a diverse population. In play areas, this includes features such as accessible routes, resting and gathering areas, use of sensory stimuli such as plants, and various accessible play features that make play areas more accessible. Applications of Universal Design have varied in scope and focus to reflect a diversity of people with different, physical, sensory, and cognitive challenges, directing a variety of responses.
A common misconception of Universal Design is that it is designed only for those living with a disability. The definitions of Universal Design are open-ended, reflecting the diversity of disabilities served, and are by nature difficult to measure quantitatively. Many in the design disciplines have sought to apply the principles of Universal Design in playground environments to better accommodate people of all abilities, shifting a common assumption that inclusive design is limiting, and seeking to make playgrounds usable for those of all abilities without the need for adaptation.
Quantifying Differences
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design in Section 240 specify that playgrounds must have an accessible route and accessible surfacing, and 50% of the play components must be located on the accessible route. For the purposes of this study, an operational definition of Universal Design was developed to describe a playground where all the surfacing is of a unitary type (rubber tile or poured-in-place), 100% of the elevated play components are located on the accessible route, and 50% of elevated components are ramp accessible, compared to the ADA Standards' 25%.
The ADA Standards also require a specified number of ground-level play components that are approached and exited at the ground level, like swings, spring rockers, play panels, and free-standing components. For this definition of Universal Design, there should be twice the number and types of ground-level play components as those required by the ADA Standards. While all three playgrounds meet the minimum ADA Standards, only the Case meets the operational definition of Universal Design.
Numerical Data
To track behaviors, the parks were separated into Park Zones and Playground Zones. Activity was compared in the three parks to examine any influence overall park use could have on playground use. In all three parks, an average of 54% of the use was in the Park Zones; however, while over 60% of use in the Comparison parks took place in the Park Zones, the Case park saw only 34%. The opposite was seen in the Playground Zones, where the Case experienced 66% of park use while these areas in the Comparisons accounted for an average of 36% of park use (Landscape Journal, November 2023, 42 (2) 55-80; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.42.2.55). This gives preliminary support that the effect of park use on playground use is minimal, since the lower level of Park Zone activity in the Case indicates that park use does not contribute to the higher activity level at that playground.
The mean number of users counted in the Playground Zones of each park showed that the Case had substantially higher use compared to the other two, supporting the hypothesis Universal Design playgrounds are more popular than those with Accessible Design. When user counts were further evaluated based on the number of play components and the play surface area square footage, the mean number of users per play component is nearly 40% greater in the Case than in the Comparisons.
As data was collected during five different observation periods per day over 14 observation days on both weekdays and weekends with various weather conditions and temperatures, this data was analyzed separately and showed the same pattern of higher use in the playground zones of the Case versus Comparison I or Comparison II. Another results model showed that Universal Design as the independent variable had the greatest impact on the number of playground users, with a reported 84.1% positive change when the playground environment conforms to the design principles of Universal Design.
What This Means
Evaluation of the attractiveness of Universal Design in play environments showed that the mean use per observation in the Universal Design playground was 82% higher than the Comparison playgrounds designed with Accessible Design. Results appear to offer sufficient supporting evidence that Universal Design is a positive contributor to increased playground use and therefore more attractive to all users in the general public.
One unexpected finding was that adults constituted 43% of the recorded users in the study's Playground Zones. This suggests that a whole environment approach to designing playgrounds - making them comfortable for adults and children alike - may increase playground use by making them more attractive to those accompanying children.
These results may help reduce resistance from funding sources to commit the additional resources involved in the costlier elements experienced when proposing Universal Design to accommodate what was often thought of as only "a small minority of users." Another popular opinion this research seeks to confront is that play areas built for accessibility are only for those living with a disability and are accompanied by a lower level of challenge in play and therefore less fun to play in for children without disabilities. By demonstrating the value of Universal Design playgrounds to the public as a whole, this research aims to support to playground advocates as they seek funding from policymakers for more expensive Universal Design facilities.
Competition for public funding is often fierce, and documentation of the contribution parks and other public open spaces make toward increasing physical activity and population health can lead to policies in support of public open space, taking advantage of the low cost of parks versus the high cost of health care.
*To read the full study for free, please access the peer-reviewed article at the University of Wisconsin Press: https://lj.uwpress.org/content/42/2/55
Authors
Kenneth Hurst, Ph.D., PLA, is an assistant professor of the practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. He applies behavior mapping research to evaluate evidence-based support for the contributions that individual park elements and accessible design make toward levels of use and physical activity in urban park environments. He currently serves on the ASLA Children's Outdoor Environments PPN and works with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) in playground safety.
Chanam Lee, Ph.D., is Executive Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, professor of landscape architecture and urban planning, and director of Design Research for Active Living at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on linking the built environment with public health outcomes. Dr. Lee is among the most cited landscape architecture scholars, with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has been recognized by multiple awards from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and the American Planning Association-International Division (APA-ID), among others.
Forster Ndubisi (1955-2022), Ph.D., FASLA, was a professor and the former head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. He authored three books, including the award-winning "Ecological Planning: A Historical and Comparative Account" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). He was a past president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) and former vice president for research and information for the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF).
