Walking paths as a gateway to social interaction

Socialization of children through risky play

Local organized sports foster community social fabric

Responding to cultural and social needs.

In order to facilitate inclusive design, it is important for designers to respond to cultural needs and social circumstances rather than abide by traditional typologies of design. Walter Hood refers to what is called hybrid landscapes as a response to developing “a more critical understanding of place and the social forces that act on the public landscape.” (Hood 2003). He describes these as collages of different familiar landscapes. This could look like a garden-park or a plaza-park. Designers should not contain themselves to a certain image of what a park or garden looks like, but instead respond to the social circumstance of the community at hand. The community may have a need for both a park and a garden space- in which case the designer needs to shed their previous idea of what a park is and instead implement Hood’s idea of hybrid landscapes. This results in a design uniquely suited to the community. Calling on Hood's idea of hybrid landscapes will put designers in a better position to more accurately respond to the needs of the community.

Allowing for different levels of risky  play.

Providing a range of risk is a valuable practice when designing for inclusivity and positive social and personal development. Allowing for a certain level of risky play is beneficial for children. “Play lets the young learn by randomly and variably trying out a range of actions and ideas, and then working out the consequences,” (Gopnik, 2016).  Children are able to test the upper limit of what is safe and what isn’t through risky play. Conquering these risks builds self-confidence and courage (Rosin, 2014).  If the designer wants to ensure inclusivity for a variety of user abilities, they must provide different levels of risky play. This allows the user to determine where their threshold for risk lies based on their unique ability. For a designer, this might look like providing climbing towers at different heights or monkey bars with a range of difficulty.  The key takeaway here is that intentionally providing a range of risk in recreation design will result in a more inclusive design.

Bringing together folks of different ages.

Inter-generational play requires inclusive design. Spaces designed for multiple ages bring folks together and open them up to positive and friendly interaction. Harvard Health writes “You can exercise with your friends, kids, or grandkids. Being with others helps stave off loneliness and depression, which are associated with chronic disease,” (Godman 2018). Paying particular attention to where programmatic elements that cater to different ages are located physically on the site is key. For a designer, this might look like putting adult fitness equipment alongside children's playgrounds, or providing play equipment that is attractive to people of all ages, like music makers.